Trump’s pardoning of the people convicted of attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021 will resonate far into the future. In my view, it was the worst act by an American president in my lifetime, and if more Republican Congressmembers don’t step up and denounce it, it will indelibly stain the GOP for years to come.
One of the Republican Party’s proudest standards has always been its support for law and order. Here, in Trump’s action, we have support for chaos and lawlessness that will be indelible.
The facts are reasonably clear. Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. On January 6, he planned a kind of coup that would change the election outcome. In this plan, Vice President Pence—who has a constitutional role in counting the electoral votes that come in from the states—was (in Trump’s plan) to set aside the votes of enough states so that Trump did not lose. What would happen after that was a constitutional crisis, but that didn’t matter to Trump.
Fortunately for our country, Pence did not bend. When counted, the electoral ballots from the states showed that Trump had lost. A constitutional crisis did not occur. But as part of his attempted coup—probably to put pressure on Pence or others—Trump invited his supporters to come to Washington, and then asked them to march to the Capitol where they could demonstrate “peaceably” against the results of what they were told was a “rigged” election.
As we all know, this occurred, but the demonstrators were not peaceable; they invaded the Capitol building, fought with the police who normally protect it, and seriously injured many of them. They even built a gallows in front of the Capitol and chanted “Hang Mike Pence” when they learned that he had not supported Trump’s plan. The materials for a gallows are not readily available in the Capitol plaza, so the demonstrators had come prepared.
Meanwhile, from the White House, Trump was sending messages to the demonstrators that did not stop the riot or the threat to Pence, who—together with his protection detail—hid in the basement Capitol garage until the riot had run its course.
Trials were held for many of the rioters and 277 were convicted of various crimes. Many were jailed after jury trials and some of the leaders were sentenced to long terms in prison. These are the people who have either been pardoned or their sentences have been commuted.
America has been changed, perhaps forever. Crimes against the government will now be judged by who has been harmed or benefited. The American people will have to hope that their future Presidents will follow the law.
My question now is whether the leaders of the Republican Party will speak out against President Trump’s action. If not, the GOP will never again be able to claim that it stands for law and order in this country.
Peter J. Wallison
Trump’s Pardon of the January 6 Criminals Is a Stain on the GOP
January 24, 2025
aei.org