Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) harshly criticized President Trump for granting sweeping pardons to nearly all defendants charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Schiff, a former member of the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol attack, called the move a “grotesque display” of power in an interview on MSNBC's “Inside with Jen Psaki.” is.
“It's despicable. It's a grotesque display of new power as president to pardon these 15 or 1,600 people, some of whom I imagine have committed violence against law enforcement.” I have no choice but to do it.”
“It's a really bad start, but not surprising at the start of a new government,” he added.
President Trump briefly said Monday night that he had granted “complete, complete, unconditional pardons” to approximately 1,500 rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A total of 1,583 defendants were indicted.
“What they did to these people was outrageous,” Trump said as he signed various orders from the Oval Office.
President Trump also commuted to full prison sentences for members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were charged with conspiring to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power in 2020. However, former Proud Boys president Enrique Tarrio, who is currently serving the longest sentence of 22 years in prison in connection with the attack, was pardoned.
Regarding Tarrio's pardon, Schiff said: “Sadly, it's pretty fitting that one of his first acts in office was to pardon a white supremacist leader like this.” .
“With all due respect, I think this is very emblematic of where the president is coming from. To me, it reminds me of what he said to the Proud Boys a few years ago, where he said, 'Let's step back and wait,' or I said something close to that,” Schiff said, paraphrasing Trump.
“Well, apparently he was supporting them after all,” Schiff added.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), another former member of the House January 6th Committee, told CNN on Monday that the new Trump administration is not responding to the pardons granted to the January 6th defendants. “There's a lot of work to be done,” he said.
“Why were they forgiven? That's my question,” Raskin asked CNN host Caitlan Collins.
“So they were innocent? No one's saying that. Were they denied due process? No one's saying that. So they're going to be reformed and repaired. Are they no longer a threat to democracy, no longer a threat to society, or simply because they were willing political soldiers when Donald Trump incited an insurrection against the government? “Am I forgiven?” he added.
The latest amnesty could result in the release in the coming days of hundreds of supporters, some of whom were sentenced on the same day to multi-year prison terms for acts of violence against law enforcement.
The action was announced in his 11th hour as president, just hours after former President Biden granted preemptive pardons to members and staff of the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, including Schiff and Raskin.
