Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has called on President Biden to pardon lawmakers who investigated President-elect Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
“When Trump talks about sending people who were on the January 6 committee to jail, it sounds like a dictator,” Sanders said Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“So I hope we have an FBI and a Justice Department that is committed to protecting the civil liberties of the American people and protecting American democracy,” he added.
Trump promised to consider pardons for rioters within hours of taking office.
But Sanders said Biden should issue a preemptive pardon to the entire committee on Jan. 6.
“I think he would want to consider this very seriously,” he told host Kristen Welker.
Sanders predicted that Trump’s next administration will be one that aims for revenge through ‘authoritarianism.’
“This is what authoritarianism is. “That is what dictatorship is,” he said.
“Don’t arrest elected officials who disagree with you.”
Trump has been heavily critical of House members, including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who strongly opposed him throughout the presidential campaign.
But Cheney said a formal investigation was needed into the former president’s actions.
“He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the U.S. Capitol, where they attacked police officers, broke into the building and halted the official count of Electoral College votes. “President Trump did not tell the rioters to leave for hours as they watched on TV as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was stormed,” he said.
“This was the worst violation of the Constitution by any president in the history of our country. “President Donald Trump’s suggestion that lawmakers who later investigate his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”
The Hill has reached out to Trump’s team for comment.
