DOJ's 'excessive' treatment of Jan. 6 rioters 'undermined' the prosecution, Turley says after pardons
Constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley reacted on "America's Newsroom" Tuesday to the pardons given by President Donald Trump to nearly all the Jan. 6 rioters charged with crimes.
PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS HIS SIBLINGS JUST MINUTES BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
JONATHAN TURLEY: Well, the Department of Justice really made the case for these pardons, and it was hard to do because most of us supported the people responsible for the riot being held accountable, it was a terrible day. But the Justice Department unleashed what one of its top lawyers called a ‘shock and awe’ campaign, and they just scooped up hundreds of people. They often demanded really excessive sentences, in my view. Most of these people were charged with just trespass or unlawful entry. Most of them were not violent. The government tended to oppose bail, they kept a number of them for a very long time in segregation. In some cases, they demanded limitations on what people could say or read or associate after they were released. All of this tended to undermine their case. So when when the president campaigned on this issue, I think a lot of people wanted to see this chapter closed and he certainly did that. I mean, this was broader than most people expected or even asked for.
Trump signed pardons for approximately 1,500 defendants who were charged with crimes stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol, fulfilling a promise he made in December to act quickly and pardon them.
Trump also commuted the sentences of six people on Monday, including the leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups.
"Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out," Trump said at the parade at Capital One Arena in Washington. "I'm going to the Oval Office and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people."
The Justice Department reported that approximately 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. That included law enforcement members from both the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
So far, judges or a jury after a trial have convicted roughly 250 people who faced charges for their involvement in the riot, and more than 1,000 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of January.
Fox News' Diana Stancy contributed to this report.