In Trump's pardons for Jan 6 rioters, a tale of two realities

President Donald Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon to almost all those convicted of participating in the attack on the US Capitol, instructed the Department of Justice to drop cases against others who stand accused, and commuted the sentences of those convicted of more serious offenses in an audacious attempt to rewrite recent history.

- Prashant Jha

WASHINGTON:

In one of his first actions as the 47th President of the United States, Trump issued an executive order titled "Granting pardons and commutation of sentences for certain offenses relating to events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021". The preface read, "This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation."

Trump's decision came just hours after his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, issued his own set of pre-emptive pardons to members of the January 6 select committee of the House of Representatives, including former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, that had investigated the January 6 mob attack and held Trump responsible. Biden said he was issuing them pardon not because they had done anything wrong but to protect them from politically motivated attacks.

In those pardons lies the story of January 6, America's two radically different interpretations of what happened that day, and Trump's success in ensuring that his narrative of what happened prevails, despite it being in stark contrast with visual evidence, multiple independent reports, journalistic reportage and court judgments.

Reality of Jan 6

Here is what is known about January 6, 2021 based on evidence already in the public domain.

The events of that day began almost two months earlier when Trump refused to accept the 2020 election results that clearly confirmed a Biden victory. Trump's legal challenges, at every level, in every state failed. He pushed loyalists in key states to present an alternate slate of electors who would certify him as the winner, rather than Biden – a push that didn't succeed because of the resistance of legislatures and governors who refused to toe Trump's line.