President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden has sparked a debate, with CNN historian Tim Naftali suggesting it could set a precedent for President-elect Donald Trump to pardon individuals charged for their roles in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Naftali argued on “CNN Newsroom with Pamela Brown” that Biden’s actions might provide justification for Trump’s potential move to fulfill his pledge of pardoning those involved in the incident. Trump had previously signaled his intent to pardon a “large portion” of these defendants, framing their prosecution as part of a broader double standard in the justice system.
As of October, over 1,500 individuals have faced charges related to January 6, with significant sentences already imposed. Trump’s rhetoric has been a rallying cry for supporters, who view these defendants as unjustly persecuted. Critics like Naftali worry that Biden’s pardon adds fuel to the political and legal tensions surrounding such clemency. The issue has also prompted figures like Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin to question the conditions under which some defendants are being held, such as solitary confinement, highlighting concerns about fairness in the judicial process.
Key Points:
- President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden has been criticized as potentially setting a precedent for Trump to pardon January 6 defendants.
- Over 1,500 individuals have faced charges for the January 6 events, with over 1,000 sentenced to jail or home confinement.
- The debate underscores concerns about perceived double standards in the justice system and the political implications of presidential pardons.
CNN Historian Says Biden’s Pardon Of Hunter ‘Helps Justify’ Trump Potentially Pardoning J6 Protesters
CNN Historian Says Biden’s Pardon Of Hunter ‘Helps Justify’ Trump Potentially Pardoning J6 Protesters
CNN Historian Says Biden Pardoning Hunter ‘Helps Justify’ Trump’s Potential Move To Pardon J6 Protesters
CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali said Monday that President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden “helps justify” President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated pardon of Jan. 6, 2021 protesters.
Following the president’s Sunday move to pardon his son, Trump asked on Truth Social if it would “include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years,” calling their imprisonment “an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Naftali, on “CNN Newsroom with Pamela Brown,” argued that the president’s pardon makes it more plausible for Trump to follow through on his pledge to pardon Jan. 6 protesters.
WATCH:
“The scope of the pardon covers activities, for which there are — by the way, there’s no evidence that any wrongdoing was done by either President Biden or his son. But the scope covers a period that President-elect Trump and his supporters have been focused on, indeed, use that period as a reason for disrupting our relations with Ukraine,” Naftali said. “And that of course, led to the first impeachment of President Trump.”
“And so to have covered that area in the pardon gives ammunition in a very difficult and toxic time to people around President-elect Trump and President Trump himself to engage in egregious pardons once January 20th is upon us,” he continued. “So I fear that though President-elect Trump didn’t need an excuse to engage in wide-scale pardoning, for example, of the January 6th — those that have [been] convicted for crimes on January 6th or as a result of January 6th. This just I think, helps justify it for President-elect Trump.”
Trump asserted during a May 2023 CNN town hall that he would pardon a “large portion” of those federally charged for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 “very early on” in his second administration.
“I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably they got out of control, but, you know, when you look at Antifa, what they’ve done to Portland, and if you look at Antifa, look at what they’ve done to Minneapolis and so many other – so many other places, look at what they did to Seattle. And BLM — BLM, many people were killed,” Trump said.
“These people – I’m not trying to justify anything, but you have two standards of justice of this country, and … what they’ve done to so many people is nothing — nothing,” he added. “And then what they’ve done to these people — they’ve persecuted these people.”
Over 1,500 defendants have faced charges for their actions on Jan. 6 as of October, according to the Department of Justice. Over 1,000 have already received sentences, including 645 who have been sentenced to jail time and 143 to home confinement.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin both criticized the use of solitary confinement for Jan. 6 defendants ahead of their trials, Politico reported in April 2021.
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.