Former J6 Committee Co-Chair Says He’d Accept Biden’s Preemptive Pardon
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told CNN on Thursday that he would be open to a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden to shield members of the January 6 House Select Committee from potential political retaliation.
Thompson, who led the eight-member Democrat-majority panel investigating President-elect Donald Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, emphasized that neither he nor his fellow committee members engaged in any wrongdoing.
In response to Trump’s recent claims that committee members deserve jail time, CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Thompson if he would welcome a pardon.
“Trump is saying you should go to jail,” Acosta noted. “Are you concerned about him or the FBI coming after you?”
“Well, you know, we are members of Congress. We operate based on our direction from Congress. There are specific laws that give security to members of Congress. I hope the president would take that into consideration. But to be honest with you, Jim, we’ve not done anything wrong,” Thompson stated.
Acosta referenced discussions within the Biden administration about issuing preemptive pardons to those Trump might target in the future, although the president-elect has indicated he has no plans for such actions.
“Apparently, the White House is discussing preemptive pardons for people who may be targeted by Trump when he gets back in office,” Acosta said. “Do you want the president to offer some kind of pardon to you?”
“The president, it’s his prerogative. If he offers it, to me or other members of the committee, I think it – I would accept it, but it’s his choice,” Thompson responded.
Thompson continued, “I think the staff of the committee who did a wonderful job; I think the witnesses who were primarily Republicans did a great job under oath. They or we were not found to have perjured themselves or anything like that. There is nothing on the record that is not on point.”
He further noted, “We’ve had two years of review by Republican chairpersons, and they found nothing wrong.”
However, this claim is contested.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who chairs the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, released an initial investigative report in January alleging that the committee “deleted records and hid evidence” before Republicans took control of the House in 2022.
“THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE – Reps. Thompson and [Vice Chair Liz] Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump’s actions on January 6,” the report stated.
Trump has repeatedly accused the committee of destroying evidence. In a January 1, 2024, Truth Social post highlighted by Fox News, he specifically criticized Cheney.
“Why did American Disaster Liz Cheney … ILLEGALLY DELETE & DESTROY most of the evidence, and related items, from the January 6th Committee of Political Thugs and Misfits. THIS ACT OF EXTREME SABOTAGE MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR MY LAWYERS TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR, AND PRESENT, A PROPER DEFENSE OF THEIR CLIENT, ME. All of the information on Crazy Nancy Pelosi turning down 10,000 soldiers that I offered to to [sic] guard the Capitol Building, and beyond, is gone,” Trump wrote.
Loudermilk’s office also published transcripts of a previously “withheld” interview with Anthony Ornato, a former White House deputy chief of staff under Trump. The transcripts purportedly contradict the committee’s findings, suggesting evidence exists that Trump’s administration requested National Guard assistance ahead of January 6.
Further revelations from Loudermilk’s investigation allege that Trump ordered military leaders to “do whatever it takes” to secure the Capitol three days before the riot.
Despite this, then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller told the Defense Department’s inspector general in a March 2021 interview, “There is absolutely no way I was putting U.S. military forces at the Capitol, period,” underscoring resistance to Trump’s directive.
Ironically, after the riot, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deployed thousands of armed National Guard troops to secure the Capitol and Washington, D.C., for months following Biden’s inauguration.