Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he “strongly opposed” President Joe Biden’s consideration of preemptive pardons for President-elect Donald Trump’s political rivals. Blumenthal described it as a “terrible idea.”
“It would, in effect, be an implicit acknowledgment of some culpability or guilt,” Blumenthal told reporters. “And it would apply only to the top officials, probably leaving the underlings exposed and vulnerable.”
Multiple outlets reported Biden’s senior aides are debating blanket pardons for those possibly targeted by the incoming Trump administration. Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Dr. Anthony Fauci are among possible Trump targets.
Prosecution speculation
Blumenthal said if there is a prosecution, it would be better to create a legal defense fund. This way, the accused can have a strong, bipartisan team of attorneys.
As a former prosecutor, he expressed doubts about getting a conviction on purely political charges.
“I think that pushing back and achieving acquittals, in effect giving the president a black eye when he brings these retribution prosecutions, would be a way to uphold justice,” Blumenthal said.
Trump threatens Jan. 6 investigative committee
President-elect Trump added to concerns about retribution, saying members of the Jan. 6 investigative committee should go to jail.
“For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Trump said he wouldn’t direct his FBI director and attorney general to send them to jail.
“I think that they’ll have to look at that. I’m going to focus on drill, baby, drill,” Trump said.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., a former member of the committee, said he did his job and the findings of the investigation should be preserved.
“They’re incredibly concerning,” Aguilar responded to Trump’s comments. “But I also think that within that same interview, he said that he could not tell the American public that their prices were not going to be impacted by the tariffs. So this is somebody who doesn’t keep his word.”
Aguilar said he hasn’t been a part of any conversations about pardons, calling it speculation.
