In the News

In the first hours of his presidency, Donald Trump granted sweeping pardons to January 6 defendants and, on Tuesday, we’re heard exclusively from a Massachusetts congressman who was in the U.S. Capitol that day

Congressman Richard Neal said he was on a call with the Secretary of State for northern Ireland when the activity began at the Capitol.  He told Western Mass News that, without an exit strategy, he mentally prepared for a possible physical confrontation.  Now, four years removed from the attacks, Neal shared his thoughts on trump’s decision to pardon those involved that fateful day.  “I think it’s a huge mistake...I think that it makes all of us in the Capitol less safe,” he said.  “I don’t think, after they have been convicted in fair trials...often time bordering on sedition, as well as assault and battery on police officers, they should be entitled to this sort of a blanket pardon.”

Trump’s pardons come just hours after former president Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House.  Neal shared his thoughts on the eleventh hour decision.  “I think it’s fair to say that, when you compare maybe the last seven or eight presidents, there’s been a considerable expansion of the option and I think that what it will cause in the coming months is a review of the president’s ability to offer pardons,” Neal explained.  “I am very suspect of this whole process largely because its typically done in the closing days of the administration. That limits accountability.”

Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of roughly 450 cases that are pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in Justice Department history.

Watch video here.