Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes Donald Trump’s pledge to possibly pardon some individuals who have been arrested for the January 6 riot at the Capitol, saying he’s not in favor of shortening any sentences for those who pled guilty.
McConnell (R-KY) made the comments after being prompted by a reporter who inquired about Trump’s statement.
“One hundred and sixty-five people have pleaded guilty to criminal behavior,” he said. “None of the trials have been finished yet, but 165 have pleaded guilty to criminal behavior.”
“My view is, I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes,” added McConnell.
REPORTER: How concerned are you about the former president offering pardons to people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6…?
MCCONNELL: …I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes. pic.twitter.com/QBhajP50LV
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) February 1, 2022
RELATED: Trump Hints That He Would Pardon January 6 Rioters If He Wins In 2024
McConnell Objects
Former President Donald Trump said that he would consider pardons for January 6 rioters should he run for and win the presidential election in 2024.
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“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly,” he vowed. “If that requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”
BREAKING: President Trump promises to PARDON Jan. 6 prisoners if he runs and wins in 2024 pic.twitter.com/teYbYNBcuB
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) January 30, 2022
Senator Lindsey Graham, like McConnell, almost immediately objected to the idea of issuing pardons for the Capitol rioters.
“No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol,” Graham said. “I think it’s inappropriate … I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.”
“I think it is inappropriate” — Lindsey Graham on Trump promising pardons to those convicted of crimes connected to the January 6 attack on Congress
Realizing what he just did, Graham tried to appease MAGA by bringing up Kamala Harris.
Lindsey is such a POS.#DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/mg2yIO86Qz
— The Jewish Ginger Resister (@JewishResister) January 30, 2022
RELATED: Report: George W. Bush Donating To Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump
Peaceful Transition Of Power
McConnell also stated that those involved in the January 6 riot should not be pardoned because they interfered in the election process.
The 2020 election was “decided on December 14 of 2020 when the Electoral College certified the winner of the election,” he said.
McConnell added that the Capitol rioters had engaged in “an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another” something that had “never happened before in our country.”
McConnell breaks with Trump on Jan. 6 pardons https://t.co/QkWA2kqPa9 pic.twitter.com/E0kYE0r0QN
— The Hill (@thehill) February 2, 2022
McConnell, following the Capitol riot, joined Democrats in calls for impeachment according to a Fox News report at the time, telling associates that the move “will help rid the Republican Party of Trump and his movement.”
Trump ravaged the GOP leader in response, issuing a statement saying McConnell is “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”
I led ten of my colleagues in writing a letter to AG Merrick Garland asking him to address the treatment of these Americans versus the treatment of those who rioted in cities during BLM protests.
We need to have a justice system that treats all people equally before the law.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 21, 2021
In July, Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and ten House Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding to know why protesters at the Capitol had been arrested and jailed while many BLM protesters were not for their role in the race riots across America.
The letter asked Garland to explain an “inconsistent application of the law with respect to rioters across the country.”