Dog Bites Man; Trump Pledges to Abuse Pardon Power
By 
Trump confirms what any sane person has already assumed.
Former President Donald Trump said during a rally in Texas on Saturday that he would consider pardoning those charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying he would treat them “fairly” if he were reelected.
At Saturday’s rally in Conroe, Tex., Trump said, “If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly.”
“And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons,” he continued. “Because they are being treated so unfairly.”
It’s possible that, should he run and win in 2024, Trump’s advisors will convince him it’s not in his best interests to follow through. But the suggestion itself is dangerous – a green light to his supporters to interfere with the election on his behalf.
We came incredibly close to an actual coup on January 6th.
It would’ve happened had, for example, Mike Pence buckled to White House pressure, black bloc protestors had taken the bait and attacked the insurrectionists, or if right-wing extremists had reached any of their targets.
Would it have ultimately succeeded? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But either way it would’ve produced catastrophic results.
Yet here we are.
