Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) said he has no plans to issue “blanket pardons” to those involved in Jan. 6, placing himself in stark contrast with former President Donald Trump.
Hutchinson was the first Republican presidential candidate to appear on MSNBC’s Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart. The MSNBC host asked the former Arkansas governor what he thought about pardoning those rioters convicted as a result of their participation in Jan 6.
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“First of all, there would be no blanket pardons. Secondly it was a very serious offense challenging the fundamentals of our democracy, an attempt to overturn the election,” Hutchinson explained. “So I view it as seriously and any pardon application would be viewed just like any pardon application that I viewed as governor and I would do that as president but no blanket pardons.”
Hutchinson also asserted that President Joe Biden was “certainly” duly elected in 2020.
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“It’s a serious offense,” Hutchinson went on to say regarding the insurrection, “and I always had the practice that I like to see 10 years after a conviction and after the sentences served before you really consider a pardon looking back. No blanket pardons in this case.”
Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), the two front-runners in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, have each said they would consider presidential pardons for Jan. 6 rioters.
