President Joe Biden should think about preemptive pardons for committee members, according to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who called President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to imprison members of the House Jan. 6th Committee “an outrageous statement” on Sunday.
This is the essence of authoritarianism. That’s the essence of dictatorship,” Sanders continued.
asked if Biden ought to think about pardoning committee members in advance, including two House Republicans and seven House Democrats who were then-Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. Sanders said, “Well, I think he might want to consider that very seriously,” on “Meet the Press” on NBC News.
His comments follow Trump’s statement on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the members of the committee that was entrusted with looking into the Jan. 6 incident “should go to jail.”
His supporters had “been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open,” he added, adding that he would try to pardon those who were found guilty of their roles in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In connection with their acts on January 6, 2021, more than 1,500 people were charged, and more than 1,200 of them were found guilty or entered guilty pleas.
A request for reaction on Sanders’ comments was not immediately answered by a Trump transition team official.
However, not all Republicans support Trump’s strategy.
When asked if he feels that members of the Jan. 6 committee should be imprisoned, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a prominent Trump ally, simply responded, “No,” in an interview with “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker earlier Sunday.
Committee members such as Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., criticized the president-elect in the days following Trump’s remarks.
On Capitol Hill, Thompson assured reporters that the committee members had not broken any laws.
“I’m at ease with the fact that we were performing our duties as members of Congress, and as long as we perform our duties, we have certain guarantees, and I look forward to enforcing those guarantees,” he added.
Schiff claimed that Trump’s comments were inappropriate for a democratic president.
Cheney stated in a statement that Donald Trump’s call for the imprisonment of congressional members who looked into his unlawful and unconstitutional activities is part of his ongoing attack on the rule of law and the foundations of our nation.
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