Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Thursday that Donald Trump has “never talked about retaliation,” as the White House considers the idea of preemptive pardons for people who have long been in the president-elect’s crosshairs.
Several media outlets reported Thursday that senior White House officials were in serious discussions about possible pardons for some of Trump’s political enemies. Names being discussed include former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), California Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D), and Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Fox News host Larry Kudlow asked Jordan – a fierce supporter of the president-elect – what the Democrats were up to. The Ohio Republican then compared the efforts to the group of Trump allies who asked the former president for a pardon during the final days of his first term about their role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
“[Democrats] I went after some of my colleagues who they said were asking for a pardon, I don’t know if they ever did that,” Jordan said Thursday. “This is ridiculous. Donald Trump has never talked about retaliation. Donald Trump has ensured that these agencies are not weaponized against us, the people. And honestly, because it was weaponized against him.”
Some of Trump’s closest allies in Congress who reportedly asked Trump for a pardon included former Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga). Jordan himself was also identified as someone who talked about pardons for Trump’s alliesalthough he himself never asked for it, a former Trump official told the House committee in 2022.
Despite Jordan’s claims Thursday, Trump has repeatedly vowed to take revenge on those he considers political enemies. He said Cheney was among those on the Jan. 6 House committee who “should go to jail,” and he singled out Schiff and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as both “enemies from within.”
Trump has done that too regularly accused President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama of corruption say he would use the Justice Department to investigate them.
The president-elect has also announced his plans to appoint a series of loyalists to lead the country’s justice and law enforcement agencies, all of whom have long supported his plans for retaliation.
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“I am your warrior, I am your justice,” Trump said told supporters in Texas last year. “To those who have been wronged and betrayed…I am your recompense.”