Thune on the January 6 pardon: “Biden opened the door”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (RSD) said “Biden opened the door on this” when asked Tuesday about President Trump’s sweeping pardons for protesters on Jan. 6, including those convicted of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

“We said all along that Biden opened the door to this,” Thune said, referring to former President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter on gun and tax charges.

Trump has pardoned, commuted sentences or pledged to dismiss the cases of more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.

Other Senate Republicans, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (Los Angeles), one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection, declined to comment on the Jan. 6 pardon on Tuesday morning.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told a CNN reporter on Tuesday that she would be disappointed if Trump issued pardons to people convicted of assaulting police, but said she would consider the full extent of his pardons.

She also cited Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden and five family members he preemptively pardoned, including his brother James, moments before Trump was sworn in.