‘I Don’t Like It!’: Lindsey Graham Stands Up to Trump on Jan. 6 Pardons
Republican senator Lindsey Graham has accused President Donald Trump of “sending the wrong signal” to violent criminals after some 1,500 Capitol rioters were pardoned earlier this week.
In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union on Sunday, the Trump ally said the controversial pardons put cops at greater risk as he called for presidential powers to be curbed.
During the discussion, Bash highlighted the example of Daniel Rodriguez, a January 6th rioter who was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The cop he beat and tased was Michael Fanone, a former police officer who suffered a heart attack as a result of the assault and has recently declared he feels “betrayed” by America.
“On Monday, [Rodriguez] was among those who got a full pardon. Are you okay with that?” Bash asked Graham.
“No,” Graham replied bluntly. “I think when you pardon people who attack police officers, you’re sending the wrong signal to the public at large, and it’s not what you want to be to protect cops, but [the president] has that power.”
Graham, however, also called attention to former President Joe Biden’s recent decisions—including his offer of clemency to the Native American activist Leonard Peltier for allegedly killing FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams in 1975.
The senator from South Carolina also pointed to Biden’s hypocrisy over pardoning members of his family—namely his son Hunter— when he had said he would not do so.
“President Trump at least said, ‘I’m gonna do this,’” Graham said.
.@LindseyGrahamSC on if he's okay with Trump pardoning Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police: “No. I have always said that I think when you pardon people who attack police officers, you're sending the wrong signal to the public at large." pic.twitter.com/oS6Y8FHVfB
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 26, 2025
“I don’t like this. I don’t like it on either side, and I think the public doesn’t like it either. So if this continues, if this is the norm, it may be an effort to reign in the pardon power of the president as an institution,” he added.
Bash, in an attempt to redirect the conversation to Trump’s controversial pardons after the senator used up time accusing Kamala Harris and Joe Biden of backing convicted criminals, asked Graham about whether he felt comfortable in seeing Stewart Rhodes, the founder of far-right militia Oath Keepers, at a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“I don’t think there’s a restriction on him being there. I don’t like this,” he said.
Graham concluded the segment by making making a direct plea to CNN viewers.
“If you got an idea about how to rein in the pardon power of the president that goes too far, give me a call.”