Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was afraid there will be “more violence” as a result of President Donald Trump’s January 6 pardons.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Your colleague, Senator Tim Kaine, had this to say about President Biden pardoning his family members. He says, ‘It’s harder to stand on the high ground and make a critique of the Trump pardons on January 6 when President Biden is pardoning family members.’ Do you agree with that? Does it make it harder to criticize President Trump’s decision to issue those blanket pardons to the January 6th convicts?”
Graham said, “He had the legal authority to do it. But I fear that you will get more violence. Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think, was a mistake because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do.”
He added, “Biden pardoned half his family going out the door. I think most Americans, if this continues, to see this as an abuse of the pardon power, that we’ll revisit the pardon power of the president if this continues. But as to pardoning violent people who beat up cops, I think that’s a mistake.”
Welker said, “There’s really been no better supporter of law enforcement in general.”
Graham said. “And there are a lot of people who supported President Trump. Law enforcement didn’t like this. But he said it during the campaign, he’s not tricking people. You know, Biden promised not to pardon his family; he did. Trump said, ‘I’m going to pardon these people.’ So, the fact that he did it is no surprise. But I’ll be consistent here. I don’t like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burn down cities and beat up cops, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat.”
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