Former President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are reportedly “just sick” over some of the January 6 defendants and the way they’ve been pursued since the Capitol riot.
This, according to an account by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene, in a podcast interview with former White House strategist Steve Bannon, said she spoke to the Trumps and relayed what she had witnessed when visiting some of those who had been detained following the riot.
“President Trump and Melania were both just sick over what they learned,” she said.
Some defendants being held in a DC jail have requested a transfer to Guantanamo Bay due to the alleged horrid conditions they are forced to endure.
As all with a conscience are. Many are still being detained pretrial, for almost 2 years https://t.co/VeJKhaLxbs
— Kyle Raccio (@kyleraccio) November 28, 2022
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also reiterated a vow by the former President to pardon some of the January 6 defendants who have been charged with lesser crimes.
Trump, according to the congresswoman, said “over and over that he will pardon the January 6 defendants” once he’s back in the White House.
She referred to some of the cases as “political persecution.”
Greene also defended the fact that Trump didn’t pardon his supporters for their actions that day prior to leaving office.
“It would have been impossible for him to magically know how to find these people and pardon them,” she explained, before saying again that it would be different this time around.
I asked President Trump if he would pardon the non-violent January 6th defendants if he is back in the White House in 2024.
His response: “We will be looking at that very strongly. I think you know the answer.” pic.twitter.com/oboIQKIwDE
— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) August 7, 2022
Greene’s account tracks closely with comments Donald Trump has made in the past regarding pardons for the January 6 rioters.
Not only has he promised pardons, but he’s suggested the defendants would get a formal apology from the federal government.
“I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Wendy Bell.
“It’s very much on my mind. It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them,” he added. “What they’ve done to these people, it’s disgraceful.”
NEW
Trump says if he wins in 2024 that he will issue full pardons and apologies to “many” of the January 6 rioters. https://t.co/l75i4DKdmo
— Yashar Ali 🐘 یاشار (@yashar) September 1, 2022
Several wishy-washy Republican lawmakers have expressed outrage at Trump’s plan.
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who voted to impeach Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection, said the January 6 riot at the Capitol was “an attack on the temple of democracy.”
“The people who violated the law, attacked our law enforcement, and besmirched our nation’s Capitol should be prosecuted according to the law, and certainly should not be pardoned,” Romney insisted.
GOP senators led by Graham slam Trump Jan. 6 pardon promise
“Pardons are given to people who admit misconduct, rehabilitate themselves. They’re not supposed to be used for other purposes,” Graham said. from @alexanderbolton: https://t.co/fLTFUXGfKW— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) September 12, 2022
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) meanwhile, maintains the idea to pardon those convicted of crimes on January 6 is a flat-out “bad idea.”
“It reinforces violence. The people who defiled the Capitol and took the law in their own hands deserve to be brought to justice,” he said.
Graham, as The Political Insider has reported, urged police officers at the Capitol to use their guns on protesters.
POLL: Do you think Trump should pardon some of the Capitol rioters?
“You guys should have shot them all in the head,” Graham said, according to a book written by former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone.
“We gave you guys guns, and you should have used them. I don’t understand why that didn’t happen.”
TRUMP: 'RINO' Lindsey Graham "doesn't know what the hell he's talking about" when the Senator says it would be inappropriate for Trump to potentially pardon Jan 6 defendants. @SchmittNYC pic.twitter.com/wrJeHTOWaF
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 2, 2022
Senator Josh Hawley has taken a more realistic approach, noting the January 6 cases have “been a massive prosecutorial effort” not on par with the level of prosecutions pursued during the race riots in 2020.
“I think that the folks who committed crimes, particularly violent crimes, on that day ought to be prosecuted,” Hawley said. “I think the question becomes, are there people who’ve been caught up in this dragnet who, for instance, didn’t know that they were trespassing?”