Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Monday that he does not want President Biden to set a “precedent” by granting preemptive pardons to himself and others linked to the work done by the House committee investigating the events of January 6. , 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“This would set a wrong precedent,” Schiff told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I don’t want to see each president give broad pardons on the way out the door.”
Regarding the possibility of a more targeted pardon, Schiff responded: “Well, I’m just speaking for myself, for those of us who were on the committee on January 6th, when (President-elect Trump) had his crosshairs drawn. “We are all incredibly proud of what we did.”
“We support that. We believe we are protected by the Speech and Debate Clause. So I think – my own thought is, let’s avoid this broad precedent,” he added.
“I’m urging him not to go down that path,” Schiff said of Biden, declining to say he would say “no” if offered such a pardon.
In a sit-down interview aired last month, Trump suggested to NBC News’ Christine Welker that he would not specifically order his top appointees to go after political enemies, but did mention the jailed members of the Jan. 6 committee.
Some Democratic lawmakers have suggested that Biden should preemptively pardon individuals who could be targeted by Trump and his administration before he leaves office at the end of the month.
“We are in this conundrum again. Democratic presidents can do things for very good reasons, commendable reasons, just reasons. In this case, it’s that people are being inappropriately intimidated by the next president. It can be abused,” Schiff said Monday on CNN.
Trump also promised to grant clemency to the rioters who showed up at the Capitol four years ago on Jan. 6. The president-elect hinted that some pardons could be issued in the first hours of his second term.
Congress on Monday certified Trump’s 2024 election victory, officially securing his victory over Vice President Harris without opposition from House members just two weeks after taking office.
The Hill has reached out to the White House and Trump’s transition team for comment.
