As Inauguration Day 2025 arrived and Joe Biden’s presidency neared its end, the outgoing Democrat took one last chance to exercise one of his most important powers. In a wave of eleventh-hour pardons, the then-president extended protections to a variety of people who Biden feared would be unfairly targeted by his Republican successor.
Among the notable beneficiaries: the U.S. Capitol and DC Metropolitan police officers who testified before the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the 6th Jan. Attack on the United States Capitol, better known as the House 6 Jan. Committee. Biden similarly pardoned the panel’s members and investigators.
Donald Trump wasn’t happy about it. Just hours before his presidential inauguration, Republican texted NBC News’ Kristen Welker and described the pardon as “shameful.” He further suggested that those who received the pardon do not deserve it because, as he texted, “Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!”
Hours later, after delivering his ill-fated inaugural address, Trump delivered unscripted remarks for more than half an hour to the packed crowd at Emancipation Hall, again emphasizing that the January 6 committee members were “very, very guilty of very, very serious crimes. ”
As Inauguration Day neared its end, January 6 remained on the new president’s mind, but in a very different context: Trump granted roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of fourteen of his supporters in connection with the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol. NBC News reported:
Trump commuted the sentences of individuals associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. He then granted “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of crimes related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” a category that also included people who served as law enforcement officers have attacked.
The developments summed up the state of American politics in a nutshell: the outgoing Democratic president on January 6 pardoned officers, while the incoming Republican president on January 6 pardoned criminals – including those who violently attacked law enforcement personnel.
After signing the pardons and commutations, a reporter asked Trump about his decision. The newly inaugurated president claimed that “external agitators” were involved in the attack. He added, “And of course the FBI was involved.”
In other words, just hours into his new term, Trump agreed to let violent criminals who attacked their own country’s seat of government back onto the streets, and then peddled discredited conspiracy theories and lies about the attack, as part of a larger effort to rewrite the offense. the story of what really happened.
But let’s not ignore the new president’s choice of words: In the morning and afternoon, as Trump referred to those investigating the Jan. 6 attack, he made absurd claims about “MAJOR CRIMES” and “very, very bad crimes.” .
Naturally, this reasoning necessarily led the Republican to conclude that the criminals of January 6, including those who violently attacked the police, it didn’t commit ‘major’ or ‘very serious’ crimes.
It’s going to be four long years.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com