Trump's Big Plan for Day One Will Really Trigger the Democrats

With just six weeks until he assumes the presidency, President-elect Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to issue pardons for January 6 political prisoners and said that it will be a top priority on his first day in office.

Speaking with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, Trump reaffirmed a promise he made on the campaign trail, signaling his administration’s commitment to addressing a grave injustice and pointing out that many of those who have been incarcerated are “living in hell.”

“I’m going to be acting very quickly. First day,” Trump said. He added that “they’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”

Obviously, Trump has experienced a corrupt and weaponized Justice Department firsthand, so he knows that January 6 protesters have been treated just as unfairly as he has.

Trump said that there “may be some exceptions” to his pardons “if somebody was radical, crazy” and pointed to some debunked claims about anti-Trump elements and law enforcement operatives infiltrating the crowd.
At least 1,572 defendants have been charged and more than 1,251 have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the attack. Of those, at least 645 defendants have been sentenced to periods of incarceration ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal lockup. There are roughly 250 people currently in custody, most of them serving sentences after being convicted. A handful are being held in pretrial custody at the order of a federal judge.

He even pointed out that some individuals who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers were likely coerced into their confessions.

“Because they had no choice,” Trump said.

“I know the system. The system’s a very corrupt system,” Trump explained to Welker. “They say to a guy, ‘You’re going to go to jail for two years or for 30 years.’ And these guys are looking, their whole lives have been destroyed. For two years, they’ve been destroyed. But the system is a very nasty system.”

Trump also blasted the highly partisan January 6 Committee, accusing its members of lying and destroying critical evidence, including over a year’s worth of testimony. Last year, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) revealed the J6 committee deleted more than 100 encrypted files and failed to preserve up to 2 terabytes of documents before the GOP gained House control.

Earlier this year, Loudermilk announced that the House may refer members of the January 6 Committee for criminal prosecution. The J6 Committee, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson, was also accused of doctoring evidence. Trump condemned Thompson and former Rep. Liz Cheney for promoting false narratives, calling their actions a “major crime" and suggesting they should face jail time, though he pledged not to influence his Justice Department. Trump’s comments follow President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden, which he cited as justification for pardoning January 6 prisoners.

Joe Biden is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for former Rep. Liz Cheney and others who served on the committee.