Jan. 6. Committee member Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said former President Donald Trump's pledge to pardon those charged for their role in the Capitol riot "absolutely" constitutes witness tampering and called on Republicans to condemn Trump's actions, CNN reported Wednesday.
Brianna Keilar, who co-anchors CNN's New Day, asked Aguilar if Trump was tampering with witnesses by offering pardons to Jan. 6 defendants.
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"When a mob is chanting, 'Hang Mike Pence,' it wasn't enough," Aguilar went on, according to Politico. "When the former president asked [Georgia Secretary of State] Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,000 votes, it wasn't enough. Now, he's dangling pardons, if he gets back in office, for individuals. Will that be enough? Or will there be more collective amnesia? I just don't know where the floor is these days."
At a Jan. 29 rally in Conroe, Texas, Trump said if he wins a second presidential term he will "treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly" even if "it requires pardons."
Despite Aguilar's comments, several prominent Republicans have said publicly that pardoning Jan. 6 rioters would be the wrong move.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said during a Jan. 30 appearance on CNN's State of the Union that "folks that were part of the riots and, frankly, the assault on the U.S. Capitol have to be held accountable."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she does "not think President Trump should have made that pledge."
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) told CNN that Trump's remarks were "inappropriate" and that pardoning rioters would "reinforce that defiling the Capitol was ok."
In response, Trump said in an interview with Newsmax that Graham "doesn't know what the hell he's talking about."
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