 "President Donald Trump, center, takes part in a signing ceremony in the President's Room after the 60th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington on Monday. AP")
US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed disappointment over the last-minute pardons granted by his predecessor Joe Biden, which provided preemptive protection to family members and certain officials viewed as adversaries of the incoming administration.
Earlier in the day, Biden granted pardons to key critics of Trump and members of his family, using his executive power to shield them from potential retaliation.
The clemency included General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of Congress involved in the January 6 investigation. Just before Trump’s inauguration, Biden also pardoned his brothers James and Frank, his sister Valerie, and their spouses.
“I was going to talk about the things that Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political folks,” The Guardian quoted Trump as saying, referring to the bipartisan House committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley?” asked Trump, referring to the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley.
“Why are we doing Milley? He was pardoned. What he said, terrible, what he said. Why are we helping some of the people? Why are we helping Liz Cheney? I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She’s a crying lunatic and crying, crying. Adam Kinzinger, he’s a super crime,” added Trump.
Cheney and Kinzinger are both former Republican House members who have been critical of Trump.
Talking about January 6 riots, the president signaled that he would pardon people convicted of or facing charges over the insurrection, though he did not offer details.
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More Shorts“I was going to talk about the J6 hostages, but you’ll be happy because, you know, it’s action, not words that count, and you’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” Trump was quoted as saying.
Over 730 people have been convicted of misdemeanours related to January 6, with about 300 prosecutions still pending, including violent felonies like assaulting police. The attack injured over 140 officers and resulted in the deaths of four rioters and five police officers.
Trump has indicated plans to pardon some supporters involved in the Capitol storming, which disrupted the transfer of power.
Following the attack, the Justice Department and FBI initiated the largest criminal investigation in US history, charging over 1,580 individuals and securing around 1,270 convictions.
Approximately 55% of the cases are misdemeanours, primarily for offenses like disorderly conduct, with most convicted receiving probation or brief prison sentences. Many defendants are first-time offenders, some claiming they never intended to disrupt Congress.
Despite Trump labeling January 6 as “a day of love and peace,” videos show supporters violently attacking police, contradicting his assertions that they posed “zero threat.”
With inputs from agencies