The question of pardoning the pro-Trump rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was “very simple,” according to Vice President J.D. Vance. Peaceful protesters should qualify, Vance observed on January 12, about a week before he took office, but “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”
Other Republicans concurred. Alabama senator Katie Britt said: “I agree with J.D.” Attorney general–designate Pam Bondi told the senators at her confirmation hearing: “I will look at every case on a case-by-case basis.”
But that’s not what happened yesterday when Donald Trump signed an executive order granting pardons on a wholesale basis to hundreds of people who had pleaded guilty, been convicted, or were still being sought by the FBI in connection with the riot. They include 172 who pleaded guilty when charged with assaults on police.