Schiff doesn't want to set 'precedent' with Jan. 6 pardon
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Monday he doesn't want President Biden to set a "precedent" by issuing a preemptive pardon to himself and others related to the work they did on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"It would be the wrong precedent to set. I don't want to see each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons," Schiff said in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash.
Pressed on the potential for a more targeted pardon, Schiff responded, “Well, and here I'm just speaking for myself, those of us that were on the Jan. 6 committee who [President-elect Trump] has put in the crosshairs, we're all enormously proud of the work that we did."
“We stand by it. We feel we have the protection of the Speech and Debate Clause. So, I — my own feeling is, let's just avoid this kinda broad precedent,” he added.
Schiff stopped short of saying he would say "no" to such a pardon if offered, saying of Biden, "I'm urging that he not go down that road."
In a sit-down interview that aired last month, Trump suggested to NBC News’s Kristen Welker that he would not specifically order those he’s appointing to top administration positions to go after his political enemies, but referenced jailing members on the Jan. 6 committee.
Some Democrats have suggested Biden should preemptively pardon individuals who may be targeted by Trump and his administration before Biden leaves office later this month.
“We're back in this conundrum again, where a Democratic president can do things for a very good reason, a laudable reason, a legitimate reason — in this case, that people are being threatened improperly by an incoming president — but then that precedent can be abused,” Schiff said in his Monday CNN appearance.
Trump has also promised to grant clemency to rioters who showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6 four years ago. The president-elect has signaled that some pardons could be issued in the first few hours of his second term.
On Monday, Congress certified Trump’s 2024 electoral victory, officially securing his win over Vice President Harris two weeks out from his inauguration with no objections from lawmakers in the chamber.
The Hill has reached out to the White House and the Trump transition team for comment.