Republican senators who witnessed firsthand the Jan. 6, 2021, ransacking of congressional offices now say it’s up to President-elect Trump whether to pardon those protesters convicted of federal crimes.
They say that President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden of all crimes he committed or may have committed over an 11-year span has opened the door for Trump to do what he wants to help supporters who stormed the Capitol four years ago.
And Senate Republicans also have decided to stand down on Trump’s declaration that the members of the House Jan. 6 Committee “should go to jail.”
With a battle brewing over Trump’s controversial Cabinet nominees, Republican senators have by and large decided to keep their powder dry on Jan. 6 pardons.
Senate Republicans say Trump will have unfettered power to pardon people convicted of federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“As we found from Hunter Biden, the president’s pardon authority is pretty extensive. That’s obviously a decision he’ll have to make,” incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said of Trump’s pledge to pardon many of the protesters.
Thune declined to push back on Trump’s statement that members of the House Jan. 6 Committee — which included seven Democrats and then-Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — “should go to jail.”
“I think with respect to the committee … if there’s something that needs to be looked at there,........