President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon upon reentering the Oval Office for those with criminal charges relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. When asked what he thinks of the president’s decision, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann’s office backed Trump.
“Under the Constitution, the president’s pardon power is the sole purview of the executive branch,” said Justin Doil, the Southeast Tennessee Republican congressman’s communications director, in an email. “Before being elected in November and being sworn in this week, President Trump made it clear to the American people he would use his constitutional authority to pardon individuals connected to Jan. 6.
“President Trump is justified to pardon whomever he believes is deserving of a pardon, especially after Joe Biden’s egregious abuse of the president’s pardoning power when he pardoned Hunter Biden and other of his personal family members for alleged corruption and gave out ‘preemptive pardons,’ which has never occurred before in American history.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, said Trump’s pardon was not a blanket pardon. He then mentioned the Black Lives Matter protests and said few charges were issued.
More than 120 defendants across the U.S. were convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes such as conspiracy, rioting and arson following protests after George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, according to an Associated Press review of court documents.