Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) on Sunday slammed the Justice Department for its treatment of people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and defended former President Trump’s promise to pardon them.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week,” Donald argued that President Trump’s pardon promise was not a blanket pardon, but rather a more careful review of cases.
“What we understand is that the Department of Justice under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has significantly stepped up prosecutions of those who protested and rioted at the Capitol on January 6th,” he said. “So what he’s saying is, we’re going to look at it on a case-by-case basis.”
President Trump has repeatedly said he would pardon people convicted of crimes committed on January 6. In an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference last week, he said that would include people who assaulted police officers, a claim Donald denied.
“George, what I’m saying is he’s going to look back at these cases because January 6th is a very painful memory for our country,” Donald said, “but there’s no question that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia over-prosecuted these people because of their political views.”
Stephanopoulos repeatedly echoed Trump’s comments, stressing that the pardon promise also included those who attacked police officers, something Donald again denied.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) similarly defended Trump on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I believe President Trump will look at this and do what he thinks is best. I have complete confidence that President Trump will pay attention to every single detail and do what’s right for the American people,” he said.
