In a move a completely innocent person would do, Donald Trump considered issuing a blanket pardon to all those “peaceful tourists” who illegally entered the Capitol during the January 6th Republican-led domestic terrorist attack on Congress, newly released transcripts confirm, the New York Times reports.
Trump’s “body man” Johnny McEntee, the director of personnel, recalled Trump bringing up a blanket pardon during a meeting, but noting that White House Counsel Pat Cipollone rejected the idea for a pardon for anyone who illegally entered the White House.
At another point, Trump tossed out the idea of giving everyone working in the White House a pardon. “Well, why does anyone need a pardon?” McEntee recounts Cipollone as saying. When someone mentioned a pardon would prevent Democrats from going after “every little thing,” Cipollone erroneously stated, “Yeah, but no one here has done anything wrong.”