Trump says he would pardon ‘a large portion’ those involved in Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol

Former US president Donald Trump said he would pardon “a large portion” of the people involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in a CNN town hall Wednesday night.

Trump also refused to express remorse for the deadly attack on the US Capitol. He called January 6, 2021, a “good day” and said that the crowd he spoke to before the attack “were there with love in their hearts.”

“I’m forced to pardon many people. I can’t speak for each one because some of them are probably out of control,” Trump told CNN host Kaitlan Collins.

When pressed on whether he would pardon four members of the Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy, Trump said he would have to review the case.

“But I will say, in Washington, DC, you can’t get a fair trial. You can’t. Like in New York City, you can’t get a fair trial.”

Trump repeated his false claims

Wednesday’s town hall marked Trump’s first appearance on CNN since 2016. He has branded the network “fake news” and has never given interviews to reporters during his presidency.

Republicans face legal trouble, but appear stronger than ever as their party’s presidential nominee, and they are trying to reach a mainstream media audience despite having embraced extremists since leaving the White House.

The 90-minute town hall was taped live before an audience of New Hampshire Republicans who gave Trump a standing ovation as he took the stage.

The former president repeated many false claims. He refused to admit that he lost the 2020 election and reiterated that he was rigged.

Trump also made his first public comments about the New York trial where a jury on Tuesday found him responsible for torturing a woman nearly 30 years ago and defamed her when she spoke about it in public. He skipped the trial and did not testify in his own defense.

The former president denounced magazine writer E. Jean Carroll for sexually abusing him in the 1990s.

“I don’t know him,” Trump said. “I’ve never met him. I don’t know who he is.”

Carroll was awarded US$5 million in damages. Trump said he plans to appeal the ruling.