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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
David Clark

Donald Trump promises pardons and apologies for US Capitol convicts if elected again

Donald Trump will pardon supporters who took part in the Capitol riots last year if he is made president for a second time.

Trump, who is yet to declare whether he will run for office again in 2024 but has been hinting to supporters that he will stand, says he has met with some of the defendants.

However, he would only be in a position to issue government apologies and grant pardons should he return to the White House.

The riots in Washington on January 6 last year followed Trump's election defeat to Joe Biden, which the outgoing president and many of his supporters refused to accept as legitimate.

Four people died in the violence that followed an address by Trump in which he called his supporters to attend the Capitol, while more than 140 law enforcement officers were injured.

Trump supporters made their way into the Capitol building during a congress debate (AFP via Getty Images)

Many of those charged and convicted of crimes after being identified as participating in the riot that day are Trump supporters, with some sentenced to several years of jail time.

The Daily Mail reports that Guy Reffitt, a 49-year-old from Texas, received the longest sentence of seven years and three months after a grand jury convicted him of five felony charges, including bringing a gun onto the Capitol grounds and obstructing an official proceeding.

Trump told conservative radio host Wendy Bell on Thursday: “I mean full pardons with an apology to many.

“I am financially supporting people that are incredible and they were in my office actually two days ago, so they're very much in my mind.

Guy Reffitt was given seven years and three months in prison for his role in the attacks (U.S. Government Exhibit)

“It's a disgrace what they've done to them. What they've done to these people is disgraceful.”

A hearing was told six weeks ago that Trump ignored advisers as he spent hours watching the attack unfold on TV.

Trump's children and other close advisers urged him to intervene and tell his supporters to stop the violence, witnesses told a congressional hearing.

The House of Representatives Select Committee used its eighth hearing this summer to detail what members said was Trump's refusal to act for more than three hours between the end of his inflammatory speech at a rally urging supporters to march on the Capitol, and the release of a video telling them to go home.

"President Trump sat at his dining table and watched the attack on television while his senior-most staff, closest advisors and family members begged him to do what is expected of any American president," said Democratic Representative Elaine Luria.

The panel played video testimony from White House aides and security staff discussing the events of the day.

Tear gas was released into a crowd of protesters (REUTERS)

Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone was asked questions on whether Trump called the secretary of defence, the attorney general or the head of homeland security.

Cipollone answered "no" to each query.

"He's got to condemn this s*** ASAP," Trump's eldest son, Don Jr., appealed in a text message to Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, while warning his legacy as president could be damaged if the violence escalated.

The onslaught on the Capitol, as Vice President Mike Pence met with lawmakers, delayed certification of Democratic President Biden's victory in the November 2020 election.

Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee, said Trump had no interest in calling off the rioters.

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