Trump's Pardons for Jan. 6 Rioters Prompt Warnings about Legal Precedent

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons on the first day of his new presidency this week for everyone accused of crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol is making his critics wonder whether he is setting a troublesome legal precedent.

Everyone convicted or awaiting trial on charges related to the riot was set free by Trump’s executive order. It covered more than 1,500 people after the largest investigation in Justice Department history.

It included commuting the sentences of 14 of the most extremist members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia. Most of them were convicted of seditious conspiracy, along with crimes of violence against police.

A pardon restores all rights to the accused. A commutation ends their criminal sentences but does not restore all rights, such as gun ownership.

Trump said the pardons would end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years.”

As Trump continued signing executive orders Tuesday expected to grow to around 100 in the coming days, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement it is prepared to oppose him with legal action.

“While we know this president will issue orders with real, dire consequences on people here and abroad, many of his declarations do not and cannot change the law but instead are designed to engender chaos and confusion,” the ACLU said.

He issued more executive orders on his first day since Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. In addition to the pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, they covered environmental policy, immigration, the federal workforce and civil rights.

“The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a post on X. “It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power.”

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said in a statement, “Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government.”

The National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys described Trump’s pardons as part of a potentially dangerous trend.

There is no question about the president’s constitutional authority to grant pardons but “we are concerned it is increasingly becoming abused for political purposes and to usurp the legislative process to affect policy outcomes not enshrined in law,” said Steve Wasserman, president of the Washington, D.C.-based association.

Historically, presidential pardons were granted only in cases of clear injustice. They were granted after being vetted through the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.

“Unfortunately, the latest rounds of presidential pardons do not meet this standard,” Wasserman said.

Trump’s supporters said the pardons were an effort at reconciliation for the nation by putting an unfortunate incident in the past.

An attorney for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was serving a 22- year sentence for seditious conspiracy, said, “This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation. We are optimistic for the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter, embracing new possibilities and opportunities.”?

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was among the first Jan. 6 prisoners released, greeted other prisoners as they were released Tuesday from the District of Columbia’s Central Detention Facility.

He continued to insist that he and other persons accused in the Jan. 6 riot were political prisoners rather than being prosecuted for true crimes.

“They’re not going to get a fair trial,” he said. “That’s on the DOJ (Justice Department).”

Rhodes was serving an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy.

There were 467 rioters sentenced to periods of incarceration, according to the Justice Department. The last of them who remain in jail were expected to be released by Wednesday.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.