{"id":2395282,"date":"2025-01-26T12:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-claims-it-was-a-mistake-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T12:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:15:08","slug":"graham-claims-it-was-a-mistake-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-claims-it-was-a-mistake-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Graham claims it was &#8216;a mistake&#8217; to pardon Jan. 6 defendants &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgraham-claims-it-was-a-mistake-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2395282&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) criticized\u200b President Donald Trump for\u200b granting pardons \u200dto individuals\u200c involved in the january 6, 2021 Capitol riot. During an appearance on NBC News&#8217;s \u200d*Meet the Press*,\u200b Graham expressed \u2063his \u200bconcerns\u200b that pardoning the \u200drioters, notably those who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-media-outlets-that-gave-a-pass-to-black-lives-matter-and-antifa-violence\/\" title=\"The Media Outlets That Gave A Pass To Black Lives Matter And Antifa Violence\">assaulted police officers<\/a>, was a misguided action\u200b that could potentially incite \u2063further violence. He \u200demphasized \u200cthat while Trump had the legal authority to \u2064issue these pardons, the decision appeared to endorse \u2062violent \u2063behavior. Graham also referenced\u200c the broader\u200d implications of this pardon power, suggesting that continuous misuse could lead to calls for reforming how presidential\u200b pardons are granted. His\u200d comments align with\u2064 sentiments from lawmakers across party lines who have voiced disapproval \u200cof the mass\u200c clemency extended to the \u2063rioters. Despite criticizing the pardons, Graham has continued to support\u200c Trump&#8217;s other political \u2063positions.Meanwhile, Trump defended his actions by\u200c stating that many\u200b of the pardoned individuals had already served important time and described their prison conditions as inhumane.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Lindsey Graham calls Jan. 6 pardons &lsquo;a mistake&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1941241\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC) called out President <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> for pardoning all 1,583 people who faced charges for their actions at the U.S. Capitol on <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/january-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Jan. 6, 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump spent his first hours in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">office issuing mass clemencies<\/a>, commutations, and pardons for these former rioters. Some 1,230 had been convicted or pleaded guilty. Another group of about 200 pleaded guilty to felonies that included assaulting officers. Graham claimed he disagreed with the move while on NBC News&rsquo;s <em>Meet the Press<\/em> Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Number one, he had the legal authority to do it, but I fear&nbsp;you will get more violence.&nbsp;Pardoning the people who went&nbsp;into the Capitol and beat up a&nbsp;police officer violently, I&nbsp;think, was a mistake because it&nbsp;seems to suggest that&rsquo;s an OK&nbsp;thing to do,&rdquo; Graham said.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kamala Harris wanted to raise&nbsp;bail money for people burning&nbsp;down Minneapolis; you know,&nbsp;Biden pardoned half his family&nbsp;going out the door.&nbsp;I think most Americans, if this&nbsp;continues, to see this as an abuse of the pardon power, that&nbsp;we will revisit the pardon power&nbsp;of the president if this&nbsp;continues. But as to pardoning&nbsp;violent people who beat up cops,&nbsp;I think that&rsquo;s a mistake.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px; min-width: 320px; min-height: 180px; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/share.grabien.com\/share.php?id=2773084&amp;userid=11311&amp;loginid=10455&amp;playercolor=%23000000&amp;playersize=auto&amp;code=fa57a31e6c8f3a174961516009c8bb58\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0px;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Graham&rsquo;s comments echoed lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who expressed their own disapproval of the mass clemency for the Jan. 6 rioters. These clemencies came after Vice President JD Vance assured pardons were coming for those who &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3284213\/jd-vance-promises-pardons-protested-peacefully-january-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">protested peacefully<\/a>&rdquo; in the days leading up to Inauguration Day. At the time, Vance said, &ldquo;If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn&rsquo;t be pardoned.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s really been no better supporter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">law enforcement<\/a> in&nbsp;general, and there are a lot of&nbsp;people who support President&nbsp;Trump. Law enforcement didn&rsquo;t like this, but he said it&nbsp;during the campaign.&nbsp;He is not tricking people,&rdquo; Graham said.&nbsp;&ldquo;The fact that he did it was no&nbsp;surprise.&nbsp;I will be consistent here &mdash; I&nbsp;don&rsquo;t like the idea of bailing&nbsp;people out of jail or pardoning&nbsp;people who burned down cities&nbsp;and beat up cops, whether you&nbsp;are Republican or a Democrat.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3296061\/trump-stargate-defends-pardons-five-takeaways-white-house-event\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump has stood by<\/a>&nbsp;his mass pardons, commutations, and clemencies for those defendants and convicts involved in the riots. The president claimed, &ldquo;These people have already served years in prison,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a disgusting prison. It&rsquo;s been horrible. It&rsquo;s inhumane. It&rsquo;s been a terrible, terrible thing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Graham has since voted in favor of all of Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet positions thus far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1941241\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1941241\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lindsey Graham criticizes Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 rioters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2395283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lindsey-Graham-Donald-Trump-August-2024.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3803,44756,12737,32076],"class_list":["post-2395282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-graham","tag-jan-6-defendants","tag-pardon","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lindsey-Graham-Donald-Trump-August-2024.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2395282"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2395286,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395282\/revisions\/2395286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2395283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2395282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2395282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2395282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}