Donald Trump’s abuses of his pardon powers were a staple of his failed term: As regular readers may recall, the former president used his presidential authority to reward loyalists, assist cover-ups, undermine federal law enforcement, and dole out perverse favors to the politically connected.
But 11 months ago, the Republican appeared to break new ground during a rally in Texas. Reflecting on steps he’d take if he were to return to the White House, Trump told supporters, “Another thing we’ll do, and so many people have been asking me about it, if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly — and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”
In the months that followed, the former president returned to the subject several times, suggesting it had become a fairly important priority. What was less clear, however, was when Trump first started heading down this road. The New York Times reported overnight:
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol released on Tuesday 18 additional transcripts that provided more details about how former President Donald J. Trump considered “blanket pardons” for those charged in connection with the Capitol riot, and how several of his top political allies pushed unsuccessfully to be included in such pardons.
According to the latest batch of Jan. 6 committee transcripts, it was Johnny McEntee, Trump’s director of personnel, who told congressional investigators that the then-president, during his final days in office, floated the idea of a “blanket pardon” for the breach of the Capitol.
It didn’t happen because then-White House counsel Pat Cipollone balked.
Nevertheless, the larger context paints an ugly picture: In public, Trump first raised the prospect of pardons for insurrectionist rioters in January 2022, but in private, he expressed interest in a “blanket pardon” more than a full year earlier.
Also note the contrast between the then-president’s public and private comments. He said on Jan. 7, for example, “Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.” He went on to describe the riot as a “heinous attack.”
Reading from a prepared text, Trump added: “The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy. … To those who engage in the acts of violence and destruction: You do not represent our country, and to those who broke the law: You will pay.”








