Washington President Donald Trump’s decision to shorten the sentences of over a dozen criminal defendants and grant pardons to over 1,500 people in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was resisted by a few Republican senators on Tuesday.
While some GOP senators declined to support Trump’s action, others particularly opposed the pardons for those convicted of violent crimes against police officers.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, expressed disappointment in the situation, saying she is considering the hundreds of police officers who protected the Capitol on that day. And I am afraid of the message that is conveyed to these outstanding men and women who supported us.
“I believe that assaulting someone is wrong, but assaulting an officer is definitely wrong,” added Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., regardless of where you are—Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Monroe, Lafayette, Alexandria, Lake Charles, or Washington, D.C. My favorite thing is back-the-blue.
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., stated that he was still reviewing the specifics of the commutations and pardons, but that the fact that it was a general pardon surprised him.
Regarding Trump’s behavior, Tillis stated, “I just can’t agree.” If you want to know all there is to know about my viewpoint, I am going to propose two legislation that will enhance the penalties up to and including the death penalty for the murder of a police officer and increase the punishments and create federal offenses for attacking a police officer.
The family of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was beaten during the incident and passed away a day later, was also shown sympathy by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Sicknick family called the pardons “the undoing of the justice that was previously determined by the Court’s sentencing of Brian’s assailants.”
Capito stated, “I can see why they feel that way.” I believe that I personally have a lot of respect for the Capitol Police, and I hope they are aware of and grateful for that.
For Republican members who were in office during Trump’s first term, it was a familiar role. Reporters barraged Republican senators in the Capitol with questions a day after Trump took the oath of office for the second time. The questions ranged from Trump’s first executive actions and the pardons issued on January 6 to his presidential choices.
Trump shortened the sentences of those connected to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy on Monday night, following his oath-taking ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, the exact location of one of the conflicts on January 6. All other people convicted of crimes connected to the events that took place at or near the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, including assaults on law enforcement, were also granted a full, complete, and unconditional pardon by him.
In an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump, thousands of Trump supporters attacked and broke into the Capitol on January 6, assaulting and injuring over 140 Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police officers, according to the police union.
Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, stated that she makes a distinction between people who were enmeshed in the crowd that day and others who attacked police officers with pepper spray, flagpoles, fists, and property destruction.
She said that she disagreed with Biden’s decision to preemptively pardon members of his family before he left the White House, saying, “I do not believe those individuals warrant clemency.” As far as our legal system is concerned, this week has been awful.
Collins’ worries regarding the Biden pardons were also expressed by Tillis and others.
“I hope anyone who is going to criticize what happened last night is also very critical of President Biden’s potential pardons, which is a massive overreach,” Tillis added.
Another group of Republican senators would not officially endorse Trump’s pardons relating to January 6 but would not openly condemn him either.
That choice was made by the president. He will need to be asked. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., stated, “I will not defend it.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri who cheered Trump supporters before they stormed the Capitol four years ago, stated that he would not have granted pardons to those responsible for the violence on January 6 if he had been president. He clarified, however, that Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge to pardon these people.
Reporters were informed by Hawley that he fulfills his campaign pledges.
Questions concerning the pardons were dismissed by other Republicans. When asked about Trump’s decision, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told NBC News that he is looking forward to the next four years, not the last four.
Would you all question Biden in the same way? When asked what message this conveys to the officers who were attacked that day, Thune responded.
Additionally, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., refused to comment on the pardons, claiming that Trump was only being questioned about the pardons and that he was announcing hundreds of other executive orders.
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Senate Judiciary Chairman, remarked, “Everyone is asking me about J6.” Regarding the Biden pardons, none of you are inquiring.
Trump had been personally lobbied by a number of House Republicans to pardon criminal defendants accused with the Jan. 6 attack. On the fourth anniversary of the attack, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a close Trump ally who has visited the jailed Jan. 6 rioters on many occasions, stated that she had directly argued to Trump for the granting of mass pardons.
In their own nation, they receive the same treatment as terrorists. On January 6 of this year, Greene told reporters, “Yes, I believe they should all be pardoned.” Furthermore, I believe that this kind of misuse of our legal system should never be permitted in this nation again. It was used as a political weapon against those who demonstrated during the 2020 election.
Trump’s pardons were criticized by House Democrats in interviews and declarations.
Republicans in the House are celebrating the pardons of a violent crowd who attacked police officers on January 6, 2021. What became of supporting the Blue? In a statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Extremists on the far right have turned into the party of chaos and lawlessness. Never again lecture America. Regarding anything,” he uttered.