By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

For those who are not members of the MAGA crowd, it might sound ludicrous to propose that President Joe Biden extend a blanket pardon to Donald Trump, including for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. It would excuse a man who has taken no responsibility for his role in the insurrection. But he did play a role, and that’s the reason to do it.

As of Jan. 6, 2021, there’s a battle in the United States for historical memory. Trump, his party, and his supporters are on the side of revisionist history. To them, the rioters are “patriots.” The criminals who stalked the halls of Congress hunting for lawmakers are “hostages.”

Facing a mutiny at the Department of Justice, Trump focused on Pence. The idea was for Pence to throw out Biden electors from the seven states and accept the fake electors or at least kick the issue back to the states. At the end of December, Trump falsely told Pence, who had not been involved in the meetings with Rosen, that the Justice Department was “finding major infractions,” the indictment states.

The mob that stormed the Capitol, at Trump’s direction, was, engaged in a blatant attempt to nullify the results of the 2020 election and to harm members of Congress and the vice president.

On the morning of January 6, Trump still hoped Pence’s opposition to committing fraud would collapse under pressure. But when the president’s representatives tried to deliver the fake electoral ballots to Pence, the vice president’s team refused to accept them.

On January 3, acting defense secretary Miller had been ordered by Trump to "do whatever was necessary to protect the demonstrators" on January 6. The following day, Miller issued orders which prohibited deploying D.C. Guard members with weapons, helmets, body armor, or riot control agents.

Despite the insurrection that unfolded for all to see, an attack that resulted in at least seven deaths, many injuries, and damage to the Capitol, Trump continued their efforts to prevent the count through the end of that day.

There’s no evidence that this effort to rewrite history will wane. Trump may even extend his presidential pardons to those involved in the attack.

 

 

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