Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons make a mockery of American democracy and the rule of law | Editorial
Faced with choosing between the president and the Constitution, many elected officials, judges, business leaders, conservative media moguls, and MAGA supporters are cheering Trump on.
Donald Trump’s second presidency began with a broadside of harmful executive orders, but his biggest abuse of power — so far — was pardoning the nearly 1,600 insurrectionists charged for their roles in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The deadly and violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election cut to the heart of our democracy. Trump’s attempt to rewrite history is the starkest sign yet that he plans to rule as an authoritarian who is above the law.
That should come as no surprise since Trump has said and done as much since stepping onto the political stage and throughout his life.
More troubling is how elected officials, judges, business leaders, conservative media moguls, and his MAGA supporters continue to enable, cheer on, and/or turn a blind eye to Trump’s steady erosion of the rule of law and democratic principles that have long sustained and differentiated America from other countries.
Some have pushed back, but many are falling in line.
Faced with choosing between Trump and the Constitution, new Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., N.D.) said he was not “looking backward.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said his party believed in “redemption.” Both showed profiles in cowardice.
Even more disgraceful, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) said he was 100% for all the pardons, while Sen. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) said it was a “disgrace how all of these people were treated.”
All “these people,” of course, were federally charged and indicted by grand juries, including dozens from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Nearly two-thirds were convicted by judges and juries of their peers.
One man from New Jersey bragged that he urinated in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Another boasted in a group chat that he defecated in Pelosi’s desk. Others in the mob chanted for the death of Vice President Mike Pence.
Many were captured on video invading and defiling the Capitol while wielding weapons, including a tomahawk ax, a hatchet, firearms, and explosive devices.
Others attacked police using flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bear spray, and other devices. In all, there were roughly 1,000 assaults on law enforcement, and more than 140 officers were injured. One officer attacked by the mob died the next day, and four others died by suicide in the days and months after the attack.
Although a House committee found Trump sparked the insurrection, many police unions still endorsed him, including the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police — law enforcement backing a lawbreaker who has now freed thugs who beat up cops.
Trump defended the pardons in an interview with longtime Fox News friend and propagandist Sean Hannity. He repeated false claims that most rioters were “absolutely innocent” and that the attacks on police involved “minor incidents.”
Trump even pardoned members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, two far-right extremist groups, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, or plotting to overthrow the government.
During the campaign, Trump falsely called Democrats the “enemy from within.” But the rise of domestic terrorism and far-right militia groups pose a real threat to the United States.
Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, released from sentences of 22 years and 18 years, respectively, sought retribution against the judges, jurors, and prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 proceedings.
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Right on schedule, Speaker Johnson announced the formation of a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the House’s own investigation of the Capitol insurrection. The whitewashing of the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War continues.
In the next brazen step toward legitimizing extremist groups, Trump suggested the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers may have a role to play in American politics.
Will America wake up, or will it keep slouching toward autocracy?
A sliver of hope came from Pamela Hemphill, an Idaho woman who pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol during the riot and spent 60 days in prison.
She rejected Trump’s pardon and called it “an insult” to the Capitol Police, the rule of law, and the nation. “If I accept a pardon, I’m continuing their propaganda, their gaslighting, and all their falsehoods.”
Hemphill no longer believes the election was stolen and has changed her views on Trump and his MAGA movement. “I lost my critical thinking,” she said. “I was in a cult.”
If only more Trump supporters could see the light.