Former president Donald Trump's suggestion that he would pardon Jan. 6 insurrections if he returns to the White House could affect ongoing plea negotiations for hundreds of Capitol rioters.
"Another thing we'll do — and so many people have been asking me about it — if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly," Trump said during his rally in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday.
"And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly," he added.
On Sunday, Politico noted that while most of the more than 725 Capitol rioters facing charges are likely to receive sentences that would end before January 2025 — when Trump could return to the White House — others will undoubtedly still be in prison.
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"Trump's hint that he may pardon people his supporters claim have been treated 'unfairly' could become a calculus in their decisions to accept plea deals or enter into negotiations with prosecutors," the site reported. "Some of those facing the most serious charges grumbled about Trump's inaction in his final days in office — thoughts captured in private messages obtained by the Justice Department — even as he pardoned dozens of other political allies."
Politico pointed to the case of Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean, who said in one message cited in a May 2021 court filing: "We are now and always have been on our own. So glad he was able to pardon a bunch of degenerates as his last move and sh*t on us on the way out."
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