‘This is really lawlessness of the highest order’: Former Trump White House attorney sounds off against January 6th pardons

Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb sounds off on the gravity of Donald Trump’s plan to pardon January 6 rioters.

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised more than once to pardon the January 6 rioters. It is already concerning enough that he was permitted to run for president and be re-elected to office after he and his followers staged an insurrection in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results. However, now America is looking at the possibility of Trump pardoning countless individuals who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol. Since the insurrection, over 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy. While hundreds of convictions have been passed down, hundreds of more cases are still pending, and many people are still wanted for their unlawful actions at the Capitol that day. Despite the serious charges and videos and images showing a violent mob storming the Capitol and assaulting police officers, Trump has repeatedly downplayed the incident.

Trump has gone as far as calling January a “day of love” and referring to rioters as “patriots” and “warriors.” He claimed that one of his goals for his first day in office was to use his presidential pardon power to pardon those convicted of their crimes on January 6. While Trump has admitted that some of those convicted “got out of control” and that he’ll only pardon those who are “innocent,” he has avoided questions about whether he’ll pardon those convicted of violent crimes. However, one attorney warns about the gravity of Trump pardoning any January 6 rioters.

Lawyer Ty Cobb on the significance of potential January 6 pardons

Former White House Attorney Cobb predicted that Trump would likely go through the pardons but warned that such actions could have worldwide consequences. It would be a clear abuse of power that openly defies “the rule of law to those of us in this country.” Cobb also warned Americans that other countries are watching and that Trump’s actions won’t “go unseen around the world.”

Cobb warned, “I mean, this is the type of conduct that when viewed internationally, makes it impossible to distinguish the United States from a third-world country or, you know, a South American dictatorship.” The attorney called it “lawlessness of the highest order” if Trump decides to pardon rioters who attacked Democracy in his name. It’s unclear how far he will go with the pardons, but even a few pardons will send a disturbing message to people within and outside the country. These pardons will establish America under Trump’s rule as a land of “lawlessness” where its leader has reverted to dictator-like actions.

There is also concern over the message this will send to far-right extremists. Such pardons suggest that right-wing extremists are above the law and that they can go as far as levy attacks on their country without consequences under Trump. Trump’s mere re-election immediately reinvigorated and emboldened misogynists, racists, and homophobes, raising fear for how much more extreme their actions will get once the January 6 pardons begin. With the strong likelihood of Trump’s January 6 pardons, Americans need to brace for what this will mean for how the world sees America and for the right-wing extremists’ response to the pardons.