WaPo: U.S. judge appointed by Trump criticizes 'blanket pardons' for Jan. 6

[Dennis Donovan]

WaPo - (archived: https://archive.ph/d76Ad ) U.S. judge appointed by Trump criticizes ‘blanket pardons’ for Jan. 6

Carl J. Nichols, a former DOJ official who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, said “anything close” to wholesale pardons “would be beyond frustrating and disappointing.”



A federal judge appointed by former president Donald Trump criticized his broad promise to pardon Jan. 6 riot defendants at the start of his second term, saying that anything approaching wholesale pardons would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing.”

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols, appointed by Trump in 2017 after serving as a Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, spoke during a hearing Tuesday where he reluctantly postponed a trial for riot defendant Edward “Jake” Lang until after Inauguration Day.
Lang has pleaded not guilty to charges of beating police officers with a baseball bat during a lengthy assault at the Capitol.

“Blanket pardons for all January 6 defendants or anything close would be beyond frustrating and disappointing, but that’s not my call,” Nichols said according to a court transcript, repeating the sentiment twice for emphasis.

Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon Capitol riot defendants without saying what criteria he would use. It remains unclear whether the president-elect would absolve hundreds who have been convicted of assaulting police, rioting, or using dangerous weapons, including 14 convicted of plotting political violence, such as leaders of the extremist Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups.

/snip

[Henry203]

1. Like Trump cares

he will issue pardons almost immediaiteley.

[jimfields33]

6. He campaigned on it. This definitely will happen.

I think they should pass a law that pardons are only allowed from November to January after presidential elections. I seem to remember that that’s when most presidents gave pardons anyway.

[BoRaGard]

2. G.O.P. wants to pardon the cop beaters

and then claim they are the party of law and order.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Pardoning J6 crimes is like emptying jails and normalizing violence

Legalized assault. And mayhem. All arrested for such crimes in the future will cite these cases.

[Walleye]

4. They don't care they have their own Supreme Court now they don't need anybody else

Let’s see if this judge actually does anything

[Yavin4]

5. Trump has exposed the absolute toothless nature of our judicial system. n/t