Trump says January 6 committee members 'should go to jail,' promises to pardon defendants
In the fall of 2021, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created a body known as House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
While its members focused on crimes allegedly committed by President-elect Donald Trump, he recently said that they are the ones who belong in prison.
"They should go to jail"
According to Breitbart, Trump made the statement this past weekend during an interview with Kristen Welker, who hosts NBC's "Meet the Press."
"Honestly, they should go to jail," the president-elect said regarding those lawmakers who served on the January 6 committee.
Trump made a point of singling out individual figures, including Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who was the committee's chairman.
He also named former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. Cheney has long been one of Trump's harshest critics and campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump will begin pardoning January 6 defendants on his "first day" in office
In addition to airing his thoughts on members of the January 6 committee, Trump also made remarks concerning those who were prosecuted over the disturbance on Capitol Hill.
Specifically, Trump told Welker that he plans to begin issuing pardons to them on the "first day," stating, "We're going to look at individual cases. But I'm going to be acting very quickly."
President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to issue pardons for Jan. 6 defendants on his first day in the White House.
PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:
Yeah. I’m looking first day.KRISTEN WELKER:
You’re going to issue these pardons?PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:
These people have been… pic.twitter.com/G2VRuKOC8U— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 8, 2024
That pledge is in line with comments Trump regularly made during this year's presidential campaign, including at a September rally in Wisconsin.
"The moment we win, we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime, and I will sign their pardons on Day 1," The Hill quoted him as saying.
Lawyer says she will be asking that her clients be pardoned
Some of the individuals in question are being represented by lawyer Carmen Hernandez, who has defended members of groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
"Every January 6 defendant is hoping and anxious for some relief from President Trump. I will be asking for pardons and commutations," she told the website.
Meanwhile, the attorney representing Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio also expressed hope for his client. Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.