Trump Reportedly Asked Advisors Whether He Should Give Blanket Pardons to Jan. 6 Rioters Before He Left Office

Former President Donald Trump considered blanket pardons for those that participated in the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, reported Politico on Wednesday, citing “two people with direct knowledge of the matter.”

According to Politico’s Tara Palmeri:

Between Jan. 6 and Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump made three calls to one adviser to discuss the idea. “Do you think I should pardon them? Do you think it’s a good idea? Do you think I have the power to do it?” Trump told the person, who summarized their conversations.

Another adviser to the former president said Trump asked questions about how participants in the riot might be charged criminally, and how a uniform pardon could provide them protection going forward.

“Is it everybody that had a Trump sign or everybody who walked into the Capitol” who could be pardoned? Trump asked, according to that adviser. “He said, ‘Some people think I should pardon them.’ He thought if he could do it, these people would never have to testify or be deposed.”

At a rally on Saturday, Trump suggested he would give pardons to those involved in Jan. 6 were he to run for president again and win a second term.

“If I run and I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly,” he said. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”