Republican senators on Monday recalled the Capitol riot as a dark day, without directly impinging on President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that Jan. 6, 2021, was a “day of love.”
“I was here. I’ve said what I needed to say about that day. I’m now looking forward,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN’s Manu Raju.
Asked about the possibility of President Trump issuing a blanket pardon to the January 6 rioters, the South Dakota senator said, “The pardon power is exercised by the president, and President Biden recently “I think you’ve seen him use pardons more broadly than the president.”
Thun said it would be President Trump’s direction on how to proceed, adding: “My guess is that Mr. Trump will consider these on a case-by-case basis.”
When asked if he agreed with Trump’s statement that the day was a “day of love,” Sen. John Curtis of Utah, currently holding Mitt Romney’s former seat, responded, “I don’t know. That doesn’t apply to me, no.”
“This wasn’t the best day for our country. It didn’t look good for us,” said Curtis, who was a congressman at the time.
Mr. Curtis did not directly answer when asked whether Mr. Trump was in any way responsible.
“We still don’t have answers about what happened and what didn’t happen that day. I wish we had answers,” he told Raju.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says “remove me” on the night of Jan. 6 after a mob stormed the Capitol and some of his colleagues continued to reject the election results “Four years ago was a dark day,” Raju said. in American history. The system worked. ”
“In my opinion, that election was certified. This one is going to be certified peacefully. I’m grateful for that,” he continued.
“What I saw was a peaceful protest that turned into a riot,” said Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, adding, “People were prosecuted and many paid the price.” Ta.
He said he expected President Trump’s legal team to review “all cases” of those charged in the Capitol attack to ensure “the punishments carried out” were “proportional to the crime.” He said people were concerned that the Justice Department was becoming “politicized.”
This post has been updated with Thune’s comment.
