Lawmakers brace for promised pardons

WASHINGTON — The fourth anniversary of the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol has a new focus as lawmakers brace for the prospect that President-elect Donald Trump may soon pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes for their actions related to the riot.

Trump said he would issue pardons to rioters on "Day 1" of his presidency, which begins on Jan 20. "Most likely, I'll do it very quickly," he said recently on NBC's Meet the Press. He added that "those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look. But, you know, if somebody was radical, crazy."

His promise, made throughout his campaign for the White House, is shadowing events on Monday as lawmakers gather to certify a presidential election for the first time since 2021, when Trump's supporters breached the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she has spoken at length with Trump and is lobbying him to pardon everyone who participated in the siege. Few Republicans are going that far, but many believe it is appropriate for Trump to look at pardons on a case-by-case basis.

"Here we are nearly four years later. Many of these people have been in prison since 2021. Even the ones that fought Capitol Police, caused damage to the Capitol, I think they've served their time and I think they should all be pardoned and released from prison," Greene said.

"And it's time to end it," Greene added.

More than 1,250 have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials in connection with Jan 6, with more than 650 receiving prison time ranging from a few days to 22 years.

Many of those who broke into the Capitol were echoing Trump's false claims about election fraud.

Police officers who defended the Capitol are particularly incensed about the possible pardons. Many officers were beaten, some with their own weapons, as they tried to hold back the mob. About 140 officers were injured on Jan 6, making it "likely the largest single-day mass assault of law enforcement" in US history, Matthew Graves, the outgoing US attorney in the nation's capital, has said.

Some Republicans in Congress, even those closely aligned with Trump, suggested not all Jan 6 offenders should be treated the same.

Making a distinction

Representative Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally who leads the House Judiciary Committee, said he supported some pardons, but also made a distinction.

"For people who didn't commit any violence, I think everyone supports that. I think that makes sense," said Jordan.

House Democrats warned that the pardons could have far-reaching consequences, both for the rule of law and the security of the country. Members of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, for instance, were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes in relation to the insurrection.

Meanwhile, Biden implored US people in an op-ed published on Sunday not to forget the Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol, writing that the country has a collective obligation to remember the events of that day.

"We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it," Biden wrote.

"We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago."

As he did with his opinion piece, Biden used his Sunday comments to reporters to stress that his administration is overseeing a peaceful handover of power.

Agencies Via Xinhua