Colorado representative on January 6 pardons and the need for pardon reform
WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Representative Jason Crow (D-Colo.) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the January 6 pardons.
When asked what's his response to the pardons, Crow said:
"I don't want to hear Donald Trump, or JD Vance, or anyone else in this administration talk about backing the blue, talk about supporting law enforcement, when they just released over 1000 cop beaters, people who brutally beat our law enforcement. I was there. I saw it firsthand. America saw it firsthand. The video is available for anybody to view. The brutality, the injuries. Over 150 of these officers still have injuries, several of whom lost their lives because of the injuries and trauma incurred on that day. We even had the Fraternal Order of Police come out and issue a statement condemning the pardons. So clearly, they're not interested in supporting law enforcement. This was a political decision and a really repugnant one at that."
Brennan and Crow then talked about former President Joe Biden pardoning his own siblings and their spouses, "even though they have not been charged with any crimes," hours before leaving office, with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) saying that decision "makes it harder for Democrats to 'stand on the high ground and make a critique of the Trump pardons.'"
This prompted Brennan to ask Crow if he agrees that is "muddies moral clarity," and Crow said he didn't adding:
"What I think happens here is that it shows very clearly the decision of an outgoing president to try to protect his family when you have an incoming president, and those around him, who are repeatedly threatening his family, right? That is the story here, that you have Donald Trump, who has doubled down, who has tripled down, on threats against Joe Biden, on threats against outgoing administration officials, simply for doing their job in many cases. This is a president, President Trump, who continues to threaten political opponents and is making every move right now in the early days of of his administration, to try to put in motion things to go after and to use the force of government now to go after his political opponents."
Crow then adds that he would like to see is pardon reform, adding that "there needs to be some guardrails put in place and some reform of the pardon process, and I think most Americans would agree with this, to make sure that it's not misused, because a lot of this is about the perception of America."
"People need to know that the person sitting in the Oval Office has their best interests in mind at all times, and certainly not with Donald Trump, right now, can they have that feeling of trust and confidence, because in- five days into this administration, the abuse is already rampant," Crow added.
During the interview, Brennan and Crow talked about Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers who was pardoned by President Trump, being on Capitol Hill last week after he was pardoned.
When asked how he and other lawmakers "make sense of that," and if he was concerned about this encouraging more political violence, Crow said:
"I'm [sitting on my office on Capitol Hill last week], and I turn on the TV and I see that a couple of floors below me, Stewart Rhodes, one of the heads of an armed militia group in America, is having coffee at the Dunkin' Donuts in the basement of my office building. So of course, I felt uncomfortable about that, as did most of my colleagues, and I'm very focused on public safety. I always have been in this job. And you just cannot tell me that releasing militia leaders, insurrectionists, criminals, back onto the street because it's what you did to placate your political base, is making us any more safe, right? In an era of political violence, of extremism, where threats against members of Congress have quadrupled in the last couple of years. None of this is making us safe. It's actually creating an environment that gives permission to extremists to be more bold, to assert themselves. And we're going to see more of this."
Talks then came to Aurora, Colorado, which was mentioned by the president during the 2024 presidential campaign, with President Trump talking about Tren de Aragua, a migrant Venezuelan gang, "taking over parts of" Aurora and the president started the process to designate them as a "terrorist group," prompting Brennan to ask Crow what does that do for the residents of Aurora, and Crow responded saying:
"I pushed back pretty fiercely on Donald Trump's lies, because this is my hometown. I live there, and I can tell you that Aurora, Colorado is a place of great pride and great strength. We are a community of immigrants and refugees. Nearly 20% of my constituents were born outside of the United States. These are our business owners. These are our friends. They go to school with my children. They work in our community. They grow businesses in our community. And the rhetoric of Donald Trump, both on the campaign trail and now, demonizing these folks and telling gross lies and exaggerations is not only- not only impugns the reputation of a strong and vibrant community, but it makes those folks less safe. And- and I will stand up over and over again and push back against those lies. At the same time, it does nothing to advance the cause of comprehensive immigration reform, which we desperately need...Anybody knows that our system is badly broken and Donald Trump is not making the move to fix it"
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Crow, click here.
