January 6 Pardons

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on January 6, 2021, a solemn constitutional proceeding was disrupted when a mob of thugs, egged on by President Trump, attacked and trashed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn a free and fair election.

The grimmest results of the insurrection were the subsequent deaths of five of our law enforcement officers and the injuries to approximately 140 others, many of whom are still paying the price for that day.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised that he would pardon January 6 insurrectionists--but it still came as a shock when, on the first day of his second Presidential term, he issued a blanket pardon and 14 commutations to all of those who had been charged or convicted for their involvement in the attack on the Capitol.

And listen to what President Trump said about his pardons at a recent press conference ``I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves. They were assaulted by our government . . . They didn't assault. They were assaulted, and what I did was a great thing for humanity.''

Trump's decision is highly unpopular, with 83 percent of Americans opposed to these pardons. This includes 70 percent of those who lean Republican.

And not only that, but these pardons also highlight the hypocrisy of President Trump when it comes to his claimed crackdown on antisemitism. Just days after pardoning these rioters, he signed an Executive order outlining his administration's efforts to combat ``the explosion of antisemitism'' in the U.S..

But, many of the rioters who Trump pardoned openly embrace violent antisemitism. Take Robert Keith Parker, who wore a black hoodie emblazoned with ``Camp Auschwitz'' on that horrific day.

Robert Keith Parker was pardoned by President Trump.

Or consider Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, whom prosecutors identified as a ``white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer.'' He told his coworkers that ``Hitler should have finished the job'' and frequently dresses up as Adolf Hitler.

At Hale-Cusanelli's sentencing hearing, Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, said ``Statements and actions like yours make [Jewish people] less safe and less confident they can participate as equal members of our society.''

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli was pardoned by President Trump. And what is more? After his release from prison, Mr. Hale-Cusanelli was welcomed as a speaker at two events held by the President's supporters last year at his Bedminster club.

At one of these events, he received an award from Ed Martin, now serving as President Trump's interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Mr. Martin called Hale-Cusanelli an ``extraordinary man'' and an ``extraordinary leader.''

Does that sound like the actions of an administration that cares about protecting the Jewish community from antisemitism? Seems more like lip service to me.

But the hypocrisy doesn't end there. President Donald Trump, in his speech to the joint session of Congress last week, said he would, ``Get police officers nationwide the support, protection, and respect they so dearly deserve.'' He said those words in a chamber that was protected by the very officers who were violently assaulted on January 6 by the rioters who he egged on and later pardoned.

Trump talks a big game about ``backing the blue--but his pardons of the very rioters who beat and brutalized hundreds of cops on January 6 show that he has no idea what ``support, protection, and respect'' for the police means.

He continues to tout bringing back ``law and order'' while releasing violent criminals onto the streets--the scope of his dangerous pardons continues to grow.

Two weeks ago, a Justice Department prosecutor struggled in court to explain the administration's view of the scope of Trump's mass pardons, arguing that the relief should apply to separate criminal conduct committed by Capitol rioter Dan Wilson, in Kentucky in 2023.

U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, questioned a Justice Department attorney about the government's shifting position on the scope of Trump's January 6 pardons.

Judge Freidrich said, ``[p]ardons have to have a fixed meaning'' on the day they are issued, and there has to be a ``clear definition of the pardon that doesn't evolve or change.''

Unfortunately, these individuals continue to pose a dangerous threat to our democracy--and law enforcement.

Just last month, dozens of former January 6 offenders joined forces on social media to compile and publicize the identities of at least 124 individuals who had been involved in their cases--including prosecutors, judges, and FBI agents.

The post, which has received at least tens of thousands of views, includes names, photos, disparaging remarks, and demands for accountability.

In January, another pardoned January 6 defendant who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers with pepper spray, Ryan Nichols, Sr., identified in a Twitter post ``officers in the D.C. Jail who need to be investigated for corruption and abuse,'' adding the names and LinkedIn profile photos of two DC Jail employees.

The men and women who bravely defended us on January 6 deserve better than this--and we should honor them for their heroic efforts that day, not excuse the thugs who attacked this body and the ideals it represents.

Law enforcement officials should not fear for their safety or that of their families just for simply doing their jobs.

I hope that all of us, regardless of our political persuasion, can agree on two things: that violence has no place in a democracy, and that our law enforcement officers are worthy of our respect and support.

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