Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who officially entered the presidential race this week, said on Thursday that if elected, he would consider pardoning those involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol – including perhaps his rival for the GOP. nomination, former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis has always been second to Trump in national surveys and has sought to contrast the former president while being reluctant to attack him outright. During an appearance on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” a conservative radio show, DeSantis said on the “first day” of his presidency, he would ask his staff to review the 6 January, pro-life protesters and parents. arrested for their actions at school board meetings and are said to be “aggressive” in granting pardons.
“We will use the power of forgiveness — and I will at the beginning,” DeSantis said, saying the Justice Department and FBI have been “armed” to unequally punish people from “disadvantaged groups.”
When asked if he would consider pardoning Trump if he was charged with federal offenses, DeSantis replied that “any instance of political or militarization-based disadvantage treatment would be included in this review, regardless of its size or its size”.
A Trump campaign spokesperson did not specifically respond to a request for comment on DeSantis’ remarks. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung instead pointed to an NBC News report that DeSantis administration officials solicited campaign contributions from Florida lobbyists — a violation of traditional norms that raises ethical questions and legal – and called the governor of Florida “the 2024 version of Crooked Hillary”.
DeSantis’ office did not return a request for comment on the campaign solicitations.
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in an effort to prevent certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. The siege and its aftermath left five dead and around 140 law enforcement personnel injured. Over 1,000 people involved in the attack have been arrested and over 480 convicted. Hundreds of other January 6 rioters have been identified but not yet charged.
Throughout his candidacy, Trump has praised the rioters, many of whom have been convicted of violent crimes. Earlier this month, Trump said he would pardon a “large portion” of those convicted of federal offenses for their role in the riot.
“I’m inclined to forgive a lot of them,” Trump said at a CNN-hosted town hall at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. “I can’t say for all of them, because a few of them probably got out of control.”
A special counsel is investigating Trump for his actions related to the Jan. 6 attack, though no charges have been announced. In March, Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for falsifying business records relating to silent money given towards the end of his 2016 campaign to a woman he allegedly had an affair with, which, according to the Manhattan District Attorney, violated state law and exceeded the federal campaign contribution limit. Trump has repeatedly denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to the charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney.
Earlier this month, Trump was found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation in a civil trial, which is not subject to a presidential pardon. — a constitutional power that applies only to federal crimes.
Still, some Republican candidates have publicly pledged to pardon Trump if elected president. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy promised to pardon Trump on the first day of his term if he were to be elected president. Republican candidate Perry Johnson said that even.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com