Trump’s staunch Senate ally calls Jan. 6 pardons a mistake: ‘You’ll get more violence’

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, called pardons of violent Jan. 6 offenders who assaulted police officers “a mistake.”

Graham speaking Sunday on Meet the Press said the country may need to reexamine presidential pardon power after Trump’s move hours after he was inaugurated and President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon family members before leaving office.

“Number one (Trump) had the legal authority to do it, but I fear that you’ll get more violence,” Graham said. “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.”

Trump pardoned about 1,500 people who were charged for their actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. That number includes 172 who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers.

Graham, however, points out that Trump said he would grant the pardons if he was reelected.

Graham also repeated a criticism of former Vice President Kamala Harris, when she was a senator from California, supporting bail fundraisers for people who were arrested during the George Floyd protests, which at times turned violent.

“The fact that (Trump) did it, it’s just no surprise, but I’ll be consistent here, I don’t like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burned down cities and beat up cops whether you’re Republican or Democrat,” Graham said.

On Inauguration Day, after the White House announced preemptive pardons of Biden family members who might have been targets of a Trump administration, Graham said he was disappointed, calling it grand standing by the then-president.

“Just to continue that story line as a parting shot to President Trump, I thought it was more political theater and, quite frankly, a cheap way to leave office.” Graham said on a call with reporters.

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