Former US President Donald Trump’s supporters gather outside the Capitol constructing, January 6, 2021.
Probal Rashid | LightRocket | Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he would make it a “day one” priority as president to issue pardons for people who find themselves deemed to be victims of “political targeting,” and implied former President Donald Trump might be a part of that group.
DeSantis, Trump’s top rival within the 2024 Republican presidential primary race, was asked on a conservative talk show if he would consider pardoning the previous president, should he be charged with federal crimes. The Department of Justice is conducting multiple criminal investigations involving Trump.
The governor was also asked if he believed the following Republican president should take a look at pardoning defendants charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.
“On day one, I could have folks that can get together and take a look at all these cases, who persons are victims of weaponization or political targeting and we shall be aggressive at issuing pardons,” DeSantis said in his response.
Interviewer Clay Travis noted that stance could apply “from a grandma who got arrested and prosecuted an excessive amount of all the way in which as much as, potentially, Trump himself.”
DeSantis replied, “IÂ would say any example of disfavored treatment based on politics or weaponization can be included in that review, regardless of how small or how big.”
The Justice Department said this month greater than 1,033 defendants have been arrested as a part of its probe of the Capitol riot.
The governor’s remarks on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” got here as a part of a 12-stop media blitz on his first full day as an official Republican presidential candidate. The governor filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday after which confirmed his candidacy in a live Twitter discussion with Elon Musk that was plagued with technical difficulties.
Trump is the clear front-runner in most polls of the Republican primary, with DeSantis his closest competitor. But Trump faces legal exposure that might erode his lead as the first heats up.
Trump was charged last month by Manhattan prosecutors with dozens of counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments sent to women shortly before the 2016 election. Trump can also be at the middle of an investigation into potential interference in Georgia’s election in 2020.
The Latest York criminal case is ready for trial starting March 25, 2024, within the thick of the first election season. DeSantis couldn’t pardon Trump for a possible conviction in that case.
On the federal level, where criminal charges are subject to the president’s clemency powers, DOJ special counsel Jack Smith is investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and the transfer of classified documents to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort home after he left the presidency.
DeSantis within the interview Thursday also accused the DOJ and FBI of being “weaponized” in multiple other ways, including by “going after parents” attending school board meetings. Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the DOJ against those accusations from Republicans.
DeSantis said he planned to make use of the pardon power “on the front end” as a substitute of waiting until the top of his term within the White House.
“We’re going to seek out examples where the federal government’s been weaponized against disfavored groups, and we’ll apply relief as appropriate. But it’ll be done on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
