Top Democrat leaders lashed out at President Donald Trump after he pardoned 1,500 Jan. 6 political prisoners hours after assuming power on Monday.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a former member of the House Jan. 6 Committee, launched into a full-blown screed against Trump’s pardons, calling them a “sick betrayal of the rule of law.”
“It’s obscene. It’s a grotesque display of his new power,” Schiff told MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Monday night. “It really is a terrible way to begin, but not a surprising way to begin that administration.”
Obscene. Grotesque.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) January 21, 2025
Apt descriptors for Trump’s decision to pardon people who assaulted law enforcement even as they assaulted the Capitol.
Pardoning violent insurrectionists is a terrible – but not terribly surprising – way for Donald Trump to begin his new administration. pic.twitter.com/e3hzNjOovR
Schiff added on X, “It’s a desecration of memory and the idea of a peaceful transfer of power, and a brazen attempt to rewrite history.”
Four years ago, officers of the law stood their ground to protect Members of Congress and staff as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. These brave officers were beaten, crushed, bear sprayed, maced, and left to defend democracy with their bare hands.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) January 21, 2025
The halls they…
Schiff notably received a preemptive pardon from Joe Biden for his role on the Jan. 6 Committee hours before the 46th president left office.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to lambast Trump’s pardon of people convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol protest as “un-American” and a “betrayal” to the nation.
“There is no other way to describe President Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 offenders than un-American. Let’s be clear. President Trump didn’t just pardon protesters. He pardoned some people convicted of assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy,” Schumer said.
“It’s a betrayal of the highest order of our Capitol police officers who risked their lives to keep us safe,” he said.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) likewise called Trump’s pardons of the J6 prisoners an “outrageous insult to our justice system.”
“Tonight, the President announced pardons and commutations of sentences for those who violently attacked the Capitol and law enforcement officers on January 6th,” Pelosi wrote on X Monday.
Tonight, the President announced pardons and commutations of sentences for those who violently attacked the Capitol and law enforcement officers on January 6th.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 21, 2025
The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and…
“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. 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.”
“Despite the President’s decision, we must always remember the extraordinary courage and valor of the law enforcement heroes who stood in the breach and ensured that democracy survived on that dark day,” Pelosi added.
Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to approximately 1,500 J6 “hostages” late Monday, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, veteran Joe Biggs, and “Q Shaman” Jacob Chansley.
🚨 President Trump has pardoned approximately 1500 January 6th political prisoners of the Biden era pic.twitter.com/LwL2S7l5Ft
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
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