Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Donald Trump after he recently pardoned over 1,500 people charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including some who assaulted law enforcement officers.
In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday, Graham said the controversial pardons “sent the wrong signal.”
During the interview, Bash brought up Daniel Rodriguez, a Jan. 6 rioter who was sentenced to 12 years in prison, after tasing and beating former District of Columbia Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone.
Fanone suffered a heart attack due to the assault.
“On Monday, [Rodriguez] was among those who got a full pardon. Are you OK with that?” Bash asked Graham.
“No,” Graham responded. “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 then switched gears to calling out former President Joe Biden for offering clemency to the defendants who shot two FBI agents in South Dakota, as well as granting last-minute pardons to his family, including his son Hunter, after claiming he would not do so.
“President Trump at least said, ‘I’m gonna do this,’” Graham declared.
“I don’t like this. I don’t like it on either side, and I think the public doesn’t like it either,” he continued. “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.”
Graham went on to unleash an accusatory rant about Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris supporting convicted criminals, prompting Bash to turn the conversation back to Trump.
Bash then questioned Graham about his thoughts on seeing Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right anti-government 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 wrapped up his comments by telling Bash and 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.”
In a separate interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Graham echoed similar thoughts on Trump’s decision to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters last week.
“Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently I think was a mistake,” he said.
Watch a clip from Graham’s interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” below.
