House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would not second-guess President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of violent offenders who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and called former President Joe Biden’s pardons of his family members “disgusting.”
Johnson had not spoken extensively about Trump’s pardons, which were announced on Monday when he signed an executive order covering close to 1,500 people.
Several of those pardoned pleaded guilty or were convicted of charges related to assaulting law enforcement officers. At least 140 officers were injured on Jan. 6.
“The president’s made his decision. I don’t second-guess those,” Johnson said Wednesday at a news conference with GOP House leaders.
Johnson said there was a “weaponization” of the prosecutions related to Jan. 6.
He said believes in redemption and second chances for people.
The pardons have been roundly criticized by Democrats and some Senate Republicans have said those convicted of violent crimes against law enforcement should not be let off the hook.
More than 200 people who were in custody for crimes related to Jan. 6 were released this week by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Supporters of the defendants gathered outside the D.C. jail to greet those who had been detained when they were let out.
Johnson had previously said he believed peaceful protesters should be pardoned, but violent criminals should not.
He was critical of the pardons Biden gave to his family members before leaving office.
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The family members had not been charged with crimes, but Biden said he was concerned about possible retribution by Trump.
“It was shocking,” Johnson said, when asked about the Biden pardons.
He argued that Democrats are holding Trump to a double standard.
“To us, it is disgusting,” he said, noting Republicans have referred to them as the “Biden crime family.”
“If they weren’t the crime family, why do they need pardons?” Johnson said.
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