Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a long-time ally of former President Donald Trump, criticized the decision to issue blanket pardons for individuals charged in the January 6 Capitol riot. Appearing on Meet the Press, Graham expressed concern about the potential consequences of pardoning those involved in violent acts during the insurrection.
“I fear that you will get more violence,” Graham said, addressing the pardons issued by Trump. “Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do.”
Graham compared Trump’s blanket pardons to those issued by President Joe Biden just minutes before leaving office, when Biden pardoned several family members. “Biden pardoned half his family going out the door,” Graham noted. “I think most Americans, if this continues, will see this as an abuse of the pardon power.”
The senator also questioned the broader implications of pardoning individuals convicted of violent acts, suggesting that it could undermine public confidence in the presidential pardon power. “We’ll revisit the pardon power of the president if this continues,” Graham added.
Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Graham on the message Trump’s pardons sent to law enforcement, particularly those who were attacked during the Capitol riot. Graham, however, reaffirmed his support for Trump’s consistent stance on law enforcement, pointing out that Trump has long been a vocal advocate for police.
“There’s really been no better supporter of law enforcement in general,” Graham said. “Law enforcement didn’t like this, but he said it during the campaign, he’s not tricking people. You know, Biden promised not to pardon his family; he did. Trump said, ‘I’m going to pardon these people.’ So the fact that he did it is no surprise.”
While Graham has been a staunch supporter of Trump, he made it clear that he opposes pardoning violent individuals regardless of political affiliation. “I don’t like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burn down cities and beat up cops, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” he said.
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5 Responses
Not the kind of take I was expecting from Lindsey.
Most of the looters and rioters during the George Floyd/summer of love/Chaz anarchy, were let free without even a warning.
The January 6 protesters were mostly nonviolent offenders who followed a crowd.
To be clear, there were multiple violent offenders, and trespassing in the Capitol building is a crime as well, but the immense double standard does call motive into question.
More violence? I’ll tell you what brings more violence, not prosecuting the George Floyd rioters, looters, and vandals. Letting them burn down cities with nary a nod in their direction emboldens further similar behavior.
At least these “violent” J6 protesters received punishment, Lindsey Graham might not agree that it was enough, but they certainly received punishment. This cannot be said on the Floyd rioters.
Lindsey usually speaks to the point but for some reason he’s gone off track here. He really makes no sense on this one.
@fakenews: He’s clearly addressing just the violent offenders in this interview. The fact that most of the protesters were non-violent is irrelevant to anything he said. He clearly said that he doesn’t think people who were convicted of committing violent acts should be pardoned, regardless of political position. Whether or not there was a double standard is also irrelevant to his point. If there was a double standard, all that should mean is that other people who committed violent acts who didn’t go to jail, should have done. It’s not an argument in favor of these guys having been pardoned. So I’m not sure why this isn’t the kind of take you wouldn’t expect from this guy. Other than you would expect blind loyalty from Trump, which is what I would imagine Trump would expect.
@Veyizmir: Again, like @fakenews, that’s a “whataboutery” argument. Just because others weren’t pursed the way they should have been, doesn’t mean these guys should have been pardoned. Violent crime is violent crime. If you’re arguing that they were punished enough already (and perhaps the courts were overzealous in sentencing due to political motivations), then why not commute the sentances rather than pardoning them? That would send the message that violent crime isn’t ok, but neither was the harshnes of the sentence these guys got.
@Thunderstorm: I don’t know about you, but I thought he was pretty clear. Sounded like his message was that he disagrees with pardoning perpetrators of violent acts irrespective of their political affiliation, as it sends a bad signal as to the acceptability of violence.
Everyone get a pardon in this luniverse. Biden started it.