On Tuesday, President Donald Trump stated that the roughly 1500 pardons and commutations for J6 defendants issued Monday night are not the final resolution of cases. The President indicated that some commutations may be converted into full pardons. What is now clear is that the executive action includes violent offenders. That is wrong regardless of any excesses in the handling of these cases.
Many of us have previously stated that any executive relief should not extend to violent offenders, particularly those who attacked police officers. Among those was Vice President J.D. Vance who said “If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” However, that advice appears to have been discarded in the issuance of these pardons and commutations, including members of extreme groups like the Proud Boys.
In my book, The Indispensable Right, I explored the J6 cases and what some of us view as the excesses of the Justice Department in the treatment of many defendants. That included sentences and conditions that contravened free speech as well as terms that seemed driven by the promise to carry out a campaign of “shock and awe.” (While the book calls for the elimination of sedition-based crimes (which include seditious conspiracy charges used in a small number of J6 cases), that is a matter for Congress.
Nevertheless, the book stressed that violent offenders and groups involved in the attacks warranted severe punishment. When Trump campaigned on granting pardons, many of us believed that such action should not extend to such figures. January 6th was a desecration of our constitutional process. Those who attacked officers and engaged in violence were justifiably hit with heavy penalties.
The prosecutors originally charged roughly a third of the cases with violence against officers. Even when you remove the violent cases, the majority of cases still included hundreds of prosecutions without violent elements. If there were to be pardons and commutations, those cases should have been the focus.
Instead, this action extended to violent cases. This included Isreal James Easterday, who received 30 months for pepper spraying an officer. It also included Daniel Joseph “DJ” Rodriguez, who was sentenced to 151 months for not only calling for violence before the riot but then attacking an officer.
It also included Thomas Andrew Casselman, who was sentenced to 40 months for pepper spraying an officer and Curtis Davis who was sentenced to 24 months for punching officers.
There are clearly others.
President Trump clearly ran on this pledge, though it was not clear what the scope of the relief would be. There were many citizens who wanted to see closure. However, polls also showed that voters routinely drew a line at those who engaged in violence.
Supporters point to the fact that both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton pardoned figures who attacked the Capitol. However, that is no justification for this relief. Even if you believe that relief is warranted, it should not extend to those who attacked officers. Moreover, to convert commutations to full pardons for these cases would only compound the wrong. These officers fought to defend the Capitol and the constitutional process. Those who attacked them warranted convictions and punishment.
To the lawyers in the group. Is this a possible scenario?
Fauci can’t be prosecuted for crimes he committed but could the following happen?
Congress demands Fauci produce all paperwork and testify under oath regarding the gain of function research.
He fails to produce all documentation and is found to be concealing some or lying under oath.
Can he THEN be prosecuted for THAT?
Yes.
Get back to me when Michael Byrd is charged with murder.
And Derek Chauvin is exonerated for simply fulfilling his duties to protect citizens and following procedures all police were trained in.
He killed a black man because he allegedly passed a phony $20 bill.
Really? that is how you want to protect society?
That is such a massive oversimplification of the events, you must be an avid CNN watcher
Professor Turley, you are way off base here!
The police fired on mostly peaceful demonstraters, and undercover federal instigators. The police opened doors and allowed many to peacefully walk into and through the Capitol.
The DOJ twisted a law unconstitutionally to pursue trespassers, at worst.
Hundreds of J6ers have been held unconstitutionally without due process, in unsafe conditions, and without a speedy trial, much less an arraignment and bond hearing.
Don’t you think four years is long enough for the J6ers? I totally agree with President Trump.
Also, all the J6ers should file multimillion dollar lawsuits against Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, and Matthew Graves for violations of their constitutional, civil rights!
Jonathan- The real issue is we have no idea if any of the claims are true as we now have seen released footage where officers who claimed they were attacked were actually not. and provided false testimony to the courts. THe defendants were not allowed to offer their own evidence, footage was withheld that might have exonerated them, and they often did not have due process. Some were held for 4 years and not yet had their day in court. Pepper spray ? does that require years in prison? I Think the lawfare exhibited against these defendants in comparison to similarly charged persons is obviously partisan and therefore I agree with the Pardons. In addition, we also know there were feds instigating in the crowds and purposeful aggressiveness at the crowd, many times without reason. Eventually, hopefully we will know all the backstory about this day as it appears to be similar to the Witmer kidnapping hoax or other such similar set ups. Julie Kelly has done an excellent job detailing all of these facts over the past 4 years. I think if you really dug into this data you might change your mind.
Lotsa luck with such a civil suit in DC.
The evidence for the infiltrators must be in the same box with all the 2020 voter fraud evidence.
Call me when you find it.
Truth, not lies–for a change!
https://rumble.com/v19l0sb-jan-6-first-moments-police-launch-flash-bangs-at-peaceful-protestors.html
I would have like to see commutations, rather than full pardons, for selected individuals that committed violence.
“Equal justice under the law” played no roll in the J6 riot aftermath. When it comes to leftist carnage, there have been countless numbers of viscously-destructive groups, that get ignored or let go without any punishment whatsoever. Large-scale arson, destroyed businesses, monuments, LEO and First-Responder vehicles, attacks on LEOs themselves, buildings burnt to the ground ……………. literally massive-destruction to cities and towns. The contrast of the outcome is stark, and it is 100% politically based. None of these occurrences should be tolerable, but there’s tremendous disparity in how justice is levied.
Jonathan Turley is, of course, full of bullsheis, when he falsely accuses the peaceful January 6th Patriots of committing “violence” against police officers. However, I will not go so far as to say that Turley is a liar. Turley is simply uniformed and, being a long-time Leftist, is inherently stupid, incapable of discerning fact from fiction, and is easily manipulated by mainstream media presstitutes, who present only lies. Turley is gradually learning. But, being a Leftist, Turley is a slow, mentally impaired “learner.”
The fact is that DC police were the INITIATORS of the real violence; the violence against the January 6th Patriots. So, if any any police officers sustained some minor injuries, that was their own doing by following their own version of “4 Dead in Ohio” and Chicago police’s violence against protestors in the late 1960s when dealing with law-abiding protestors. Although the January 6th Committee, led by Criminal Dunceocrats and RINOs DESTROYED evidence in violation of the law (for which Biden issued them “Get Out of Jail Free Cards” to escape justice), there are still some video recordings of DC police VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PATRIOTS that still exists, such as the following:
https://rumble.com/v19l0sb-jan-6-first-moments-police-launch-flash-bangs-at-peaceful-protestors.html
I respectfully disagree that Jonathan Turley is merely “uniformed” or “stupid” as you state above. But thank you for posting that video. Turley knows the facts, but he’s committed to advancing the Leftist agenda of filth and lies. I call him out for the liar he is in this article. Turley could not possibly be that stupid and ignorant of the facts. I wouldn’t be surprised if Turley refers to the scumbag Federal agent provocateur Ray Epps as a “misunderstood hero.”
Ashli Babbitt, Professor.
The only person who died that day and the only person who was the victim of a gunshot wound.
Maybe if by now there had been a satisfactory resolution to the case against the officer who fired that shot, we might be a bit more understanding of the outrage against the violent offenders on January 6th.
Fortunately President Trump doesn’t have to worry about running for reelection. In a way he’s taking the Gerald Ford way out of a horrific national mess.
If I were advising him at this point I would tell him that he needs to do something special for all of the officers who were assaulted that day.
Ashley Babbitt wasn’t the only person that died that day. There was another woman bludgeon to death with an officers baton
Like Ashli Babbitt (for which Lt. Michael Byrd has been accused of murder by the public), DCPD Officer Lila Morris has been accused (by the public) of murdering Rosanne Boyland by beating her on the ground.
I have to say, I most vehemently disagree. Thirty months for pepper spraying an officer is excessive, a hundred and fifty-one months for calling for violence and then attacking an officer? Also sounds excessive. Particularly so given the circumstances and the fact that the riot itself appeared as if choreographed to incite, and that some 1500 were ultimately, certainly, denied civil rights and politically persecuted. All of this for an incident that should never have occurred, would never have occurred, if not for the fact that the 2020 election appeared to many to be “rigged.” We are still absolutely convinced, certain, that the 2020 was both rigged and constitutionally unlawful. That is the way history WILL record this event. I believe it’s high time to correct and make restitution. Note also that Biden’s pardons will not shield those of the J6 committee from civil suit.
Agreed, some of those people were trying to protect themselves because the officers were way out of line and out of control. I just read the Colt MacAbee case. Those officers were using undo force, and pepper sprayed people directly into the face, I think some of those people were just defending themselves
Lotsa luck with such a civil suit in DC
Overall in terms of substance and tone this post seems inconsistent with the previous column (except for the brief intro).
The Fauci pardon seems like Obstruction of Justice,
Fauci committed a lot of crimes. Among the easiest of his crimes to prove is lying under oath about his role in creating and distributing the Wuhan Virus. The Deep State gambled on Trump losing and, obviously, lost. Hence, the wholesale pardons for Deep State Criminals. Now, Fauci could reject the pardon, rendering it null and void. But Fauci, like all the other Deep State criminals is essentially a coward, as well as an evil, degenerate piece of crap. So, he won’t reject Biden’s pardon.
OK agreed on the violent offenders although the bulk of them being for “pepper spray” seems a stretch to refer to that as “violence” but ok. There’s some caveats that should have been set, but WHAT ABOUT THE FAUCI PARDON?
Did Joe Biden just effectively block any chance of real investigation and accountability into the pandemic?
Fauci hasn’t even been suggested to be guilty of any crime as of this time. Doesn’t Biden pardoning a man not even accused of a crime suggest he MUST be guilty of something?
This is serious to me. I wish you’d write about this one.
Quite the opposite, pardons make investigations easier because they can’t invoke their right to remain silent since there is no chance of prosecution.
I’m aware of that but the point of my comment is, what good is a toothless investigation?
Kinda makes the investigation moot if theres no chance of prosecution if its discovered crimes were committed,
I’ve never seen anything like these “blanket pardons”.
We have never seen anything like a lot of stuff lately. Trump promised to go after his political enemies, thus it is reasonable for Biden to protect them. Also, MAGAs don’t care one lick about prosecuting those who were discovered to commit crimes.
Reasonable to protect criminals coming from a liberal troll sounds good, till ya say it slow.
Yes and no. There will be a lot of testimony like the following:
Question: “Mr. Fauci . . .”
Fauci: “That’s Dr. Fauci. I’m a doctor.”
Question: “Alright, I’ll call you Dr. Fauci. Does that meet with your approval?”
Fauci: “It does. Thank you.”
Question: “Dr. Fauci, I’m showing you one of your emails, marked Exhibit 6732 in which you describe how the US Government needs to cover up your role in creating the Wuhan Virus and its aftermath.”
Fauci: “I see the email. But I don’t remember writing it or ever seeing it before.”
Question: “You don’t remember this email?”
Fauci: “Yes, I don’t recall it.”
Question: “Are you denying that you wrote the email?”
Fauci: “No, I don’t know one way or the other. I simply have no memory of the email or any of its contents.”
Quelle surprise.
These violent offenders spent a long time in jail already. Commuting would have been better. Having that said, two more things: 1) Following Floyd’s death, the Antifa and BLM individuals committing more severe violence and property destruction were not even prosecuted and did zero jail time. From that perspective, equality under the law would call for commuting the sentences of people who already spent 2-4 years in prison. 2) the sentences they received were extreme: 151 months (almost 13 years) for attacking a police officer is unusual punishment; so is the solitary confinement many had to endure; others got 36 months (3 years) for simply trespassing. Then there remains the question of whether the riot was provoked by government agents which we will likely never really know, but is (unfortunately) quite feasible. The treatment of these people in jail is also I=unacceptable, so I am content with the pardons and commutations.
Kamala still has a post up about where to donate to pay for their bails if they did get arrested. THE VICE PRESIDENT of the United States helped bail out violent rioters who burnt cities down…no jail for them…they have privilege….
Thank you, Jonathan. Likely without intending to do so, you’re responding to my earlier comment/request earlier today that you voice your opinion on this subject. Trump will quickly spend/forfeit political capital with his pardoning of the “hostages” who attacked law enforcement personnel.
Additionally, with your admirable focus on the grotesque buck-raking of Biden family members, it would be interesting to read your views on the latest in Trump world, marketing a form of quasi-crypto potentially available for purchase for those seeking to buy influence, perhaps making the Trump University scam look like small potatoes.
It was a treat to hear your talk at the Amelia Island Plantation last month. I enjoyed your book and learned a lot; took me back to law school and Con Law.
As a former Illinois state senator representing Chicago’s northern suburbs (1980-1996), it would be interesting to know more of your family’s (father’s?) political involvement in Chicago, which I’m guessing must have been under the reign of Richard J. Daley.
David Barkhausen
dbarkhausen50@gmail.com
After observing the actions of police and fed instigators i.e. shooting into the crowd beating ( killing )a woman. Cindy ? ashlii (shooting killing) dropping men off high walls . no police were killed (thankfully ) the violent incidents resulted in gulags for years . there the prisoners faced even more brutality . they have been punished enough . Now let us put Epps in jail Ashlii’s murderer also .oh wait he has a pardon For murder . pardon the j6 people ( all of them) . the police started this whole mess courtesy of PELOSI
TRUMP requested 15,000 GUARD. DEMS REFUSED!!!
It seems that the cop, Michael Byrd that murdered Ashli Babbit WAS NOT included in Bidens blanket pardon for any cops that only TESTIFIED before the Jan 6 committee. Byrd did not testify making him ineligible for the pardon. He can and should be charged criminally and civilly for this murder.
Trump’s directive to the AG regarding not prosecuting J6 people would cover him as well.
About a year ago, Montez Lee was sentenced in federal court in Minneapolis to ten years in prison for arson which led to the death of an occupant in a pawnshop. Because of his record of criminal violence, sentencing guidelines called for twenty years. But this was no ordinary arson. The torching of the pawnshop took place in the context of a Black Lives Matter riot. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, “Mr. Lee’s motive for setting the fire is a foremost issue. Mr. Lee credibly states that he was in the streets to protest unlawful police violence against black men, and there is no
basis to disbelieve this statement. Mr. Lee, appropriately, acknowledges that he “could have demonstrated in a different way,” but that he was “caught up in the fury of the mob after living as a black man watching his peers suffer at the hands of police.” The U.S. Attorney also cited Martin Luther King’s quote that rioting “is the language of the unheard.” In other words, if your political motives were supported by the Biden Administration, you deserve leniency.
As such, I have no problem with Trump pardoning those found guilty of violent acts at the Capitol.
Some people who may not have deserved to be pardoned or had sentences commuted were given just that. Well, Biden just pardoned a guy who killed two FBI agents. Plus, he took 37 out of 40 people off of federal death row. These were ALL killers. A bit of pepper spray seems tame compared to that evil.
All that said, I am happy Trump did what he did for all J6ers. If you’re not happy about it, that’s life.
Biden also pardoned the pair who killed a Virginia police officer.
US law has become so perverted by the corrupt Biden administration that often one’s guilt or innocence is determined not by legal process, but by party affiliation. Should Jan. 6th protestors who used violence get pardons? If the law applied equally to all, the answer would be yes. But Biden failed to pursue equity in the law, and the most violent offenders in Antifa and Black Lives Matter never got prosecuted. These are people responsible for far worse crimes than pepper spraying a cop. And then there’s the cop who killed Ashley…still never prosecuted. I won’t lose any sleep over any and all Jan. 6th protestors getting pardoned.
Your comment would have more validity if there had been actual investigations of who actually committed violence against LEOs, including but not limited to LEOs wearing ordinary civilian garb attacking ordinary civilians and LEOs, as well as BLMs, Antifas, and LEOs seeded into the protest to attack and to provoke violence. And if the “law enforcement community” including DoJ, FBI, Capitol Hill Police, “January 6 Committee”, and the rest had not concealed and destroyed Brady material. The only riot was a police riot. The only people killed were killed by the police. The only people with weapons were the police.