In a recent interview with Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump suggested that President Joe Biden should have pardoned him, reflecting on Biden’s preemptive pardons for some political adversaries before leaving office. Trump expressed discontent over not having pardoned himself or his allies, citing the suffering of figures like Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who faced legal repercussions following the January 6 Capitol attack. He claimed the Justice Department is being used against him and others in his party. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Republicans will investigate the pardons granted by Biden to various Democratic figures.
President Donald Trump cryptically warned Sean Hannity on Wednesday that President Joe Biden should have pardoned him.
President Trump gave his first Oval Office interview to the Fox News star since taking the oath of office on Monday.
Mr. Hannity asked Mr. Trump what he thought about Mr. Biden’s decision to grant preemptive, last-minute pardons to some Democratic families and some of the Republican president’s political opponents.
“And you know the funny thing, and probably the sad thing, is that he didn’t pardon himself,” Trump pointed out.
“And look, it was all about him,” Trump also offered.
President Trump believes the Justice Department has been armed against him and other Republicans after Biden was charged in four separate cases in the first few years of his presidency, and his political rivals He said he wanted “retaliation” for
The Justice Department is supposed to act independently of the White House.
During the sit-in, Trump complained that he had not granted a full pardon to himself or any of his allies.
President Donald Trump cryptically warned Sean Hannity on Wednesday that President Joe Biden should have pardoned him.
“I was given a choice. They said, Your Excellency, why don’t you pardon everyone, including yourself? I’m not going to pardon anyone, we’ve done nothing wrong. I said I didn’t,” Trump said.
He noted that many of his compatriots “suffered” at the time.
“We have Mr. Bannon in prison, we have Peter Navarro in prison, we have people suffering,” Trump said.
Steve Bannon, President Trump’s longtime political strategist who briefly worked in the White House during his first term, was released after serving four months in prison just days before the 2024 election.
Bannon was jailed for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify about the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Navarro became the first former Trump official to be jailed for contempt of Congress.
He was released in July after also serving a four-month sentence.
Before leaving office, Trump pardoned a number of his political allies, including Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Before President Joe Biden walked out the door of the White House on Monday, he granted full pardons to many of President Donald Trump’s political opponents, as well as his brother and his spouse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has already said House Republicans will investigate Biden’s pardons on Jan. 6, including for members of the House Select Committee.
The two Republicans who served on the committee are former members of the House, although they are no longer serving in Congress. A number of Democrats remain in the House, including Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
Mr. Biden’s full pardon was also granted to his brother and his spouse, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci led the coronavirus response in both the Trump and Biden administrations, but has since been criticized by the political right for his coronavirus-era lockdowns.
