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Sanders says ‘don’t equate’ Trump, Biden pardons

Sen. Bernie Sanders, R-Idaho, said Americans should not equate pardons issued by President Trump and former President Biden.

Sanders appeared on CNN's “The Source” Tuesday evening, where some compared President Trump's spate of presidential actions, including pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters, to Biden's pardons before leaving office. I was asked about the existence of

Host Kaitlan Collins asked Biden what he thought about the issue, especially since Biden pardoned his family.

“My guess is, given all of President Trump's rhetoric, he was concerned about things like: [Biden] I was going to go after my family and my inner circle,” Sanders said. “Okay, that's a concern, but don't equate the two.”

Sanders said he doesn't know of anyone in Trump's family who has tried to overthrow the U.S. government.

“What President Trump is trying to tell the world is that it's OK to attack police officers if that's what you want to do,” he said. “And I think that's a hell of a message to send to the world.”

Sanders acknowledged that there could be a debate about whether it was right or wrong for Biden to go ahead and pardon families, but he still said, “It has nothing to do with what Trump did today. None,” he said.

Biden's move to pardon the family was an unprecedented exercise of power in his final days in office. He was concerned that President Trump would carry out his threats of retaliation in a second administration. The issue divided Democrats, with some in favor of amnesty and others opposed.

When Trump took office, he moved quickly to pardon nearly all of the rioters who stormed the Capitol four years ago.

Both presidential pardons drew scrutiny.

Sanders said Tuesday that it “speaks a lot” for Trump to pardon them, especially as supporters of law enforcement.

“When you tell the whole world that you're pardoning people who attacked and hurt police officers, you're sending a message,” Sanders said. “I think this is a terrible message, and I strongly oppose presidential pardons for insurrectionists.”

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