Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s pardons of January 6 insurrectionists:
“Four years ago, officers of the law stood their ground to protect Members of Congress and staff as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. These brave officers were beaten, crushed, bear sprayed, maced, and left to defend democracy with their bare hands.
“The halls they protected were desecrated by hate and chaos. Offices ransacked. The electoral count delayed.
“Today, in a grim irony, Donald Trump took the oath of office under the protection of those same officers, standing in those same hallowed halls he incited violence against just four years earlier.
“And in one of his first acts, he pardoned the perpetrators and planners of that violence and sedition.
“Trump’s action today is a sick betrayal of the rule of law and adds grievous insult to injury to law enforcement officers. These men and women fought to uphold the rule of law, only to see it mocked by a man who swore just a few hours ago, to God and country, to defend it.
“It’s a desecration of memory and the idea of a peaceful transfer of power, and a brazen attempt to rewrite history.
“But history will not be rewritten. Not by a thousand lies or a thousand pardons. Instead, we may be witnessing something worse: the newest milestone along the road to autocracy, in which a president pardons those who do violence on his behalf and encourages others to do the more of the same.”
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