An NPR review of social media posts, speeches and interviews found that Trump has made calls to “free” Jan. 6 defendants or promised to issue them presidential pardons more than a dozen times. Trump has said he would issue those pardons on “day one” of his presidency, as part of a broader agenda to use presidential power to exact “retribution” against his opponents and deliver “justice” for his supporters.

“We’ll be looking very, very seriously at full pardons,” Trump told an interviewer in 2022. “I mean full pardons with an apology to many.”

“LET THE JANUARY 6 PRISONERS GO,” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social, in March 2023.

Later that year, Trump re-posted a Truth Social post stating, “The cops should be charged and the protesters should be freed.”

In the immediate term, a pardon for Jan. 6 defendants would free them from prison as well as other court-ordered supervision, and end ongoing prosecutions. The pardon would also allow the hundreds of defendants convicted of felonies to legally own guns again.

  • @thantikEnglish
    16•5 months ago

    Here are some things that need to be said: Presidential pardons aren’t just some card that wipes you of all wrongdoing. They actually come with things such as admitting guilt to the thing you did, which in this case would still come with voting rights being revoked.

    Kind of a dumb move if you ask me; to be courting people who can’t even vote for you. hah.

    This man cannot be allowed to become president again. The country will absolutely fall.

      • @thantikEnglish
        11•5 months ago

        Ohhh, my knowledge was out of date on the subject then! I didn’t realize that the Kansas ruling had been overturned. Thanks for this!

        • @[email protected]
          3•5 months ago

          How would a turkey plead guilty to avoid slaughter? Of course it had to be overturned

          #bigbrain

          • @thantikEnglish
            1•5 months ago

            Great example of the Dunning-Kruger effect right here people.

            Basically if people were already in prison, they’ve ALREADY been found guilty.

            The argument was, by taking a pardon, is the person themselves admitting guilt or not.

            • @[email protected]
              2•5 months ago

              And my argument (explaining the joke always improve it) why there can be no stipulation of the pardoned to need to admit fault is the turkey who gets pardoned each year.

              Since the turkey cannot admit guilt, it can only be pardoned in a system where there is no such prerequisite to pardoning

              I answered to a post exclaiming surprise that there is no need to admit guilt with a silly point about why such a law wouldn’t be able to exist

      • @[email protected]
        1•5 months ago

        I wonder if a pardon can remove the penalty against holding a US office, since the power to dismiss that restriction is given to Congress. I could see the right to vote being restored, but not the right to hold office, though that would probably need to go to the Supreme Court.

        If there are any state-level charges, those cannot be pardoned by the President.