Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene sent a series of tweets over the Thanksgiving holiday, offering a spirited defense of former President Donald Trump's behavior toward those arrested following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Greene took aim at unnamed critics of Trump and argued that he was right not to grant pardons during his final days in office to those allegedly involved in the riot.
"I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did. I ate way too much, enjoyed time with my family, went shopping on Black Friday, & got a dress for my daughter's upcoming wedding," Greene tweeted.
"But I've been noticing in certain echo chambers absurd criticism of Pres Trump & J6'ers (January 6 protesters)," she wrote.
Over the course of a 17-tweet thread, Greene strongly defended Trump's approach to January 6 defendants while reiterating her concerns about the conditions many of them are experiencing in prison.
"Anyone claiming that President Trump is doing nothing for pre-trial January 6 defendants is either lying, clueless, or wants to hurt him," Greene tweeted.
"He has said over and over at practically every single rally that he will pardon January 6 defendants when he becomes president again," she wrote, pointing to a Reuters report showing Trump had said he would pardon them.
In September, Trump told conservative radio host Wendy Bell he would pardon those who participated in the Capitol riot if he's re-elected president.
"I mean full pardons with an apology to many," Trump said. "I will be looking very, very strongly at pardons, full pardons."
Greene tweeted: "I've been to a lot of rallies this year and I've heard him say he will pardon J6 defendants multiple times. I have not heard any other potential 2024 presidential candidate say that yet."
"Pres Trump has also financially helped January 6 defendants with their legal battles," she posted.
Greene said those defendants "are rotting away in jail and being abused and treated like political prisoners by Democrats" and called the situation "horrific."
She added that Trump had taken an interest in a report she had written about the conditions that the January 6 defendants were facing in jail in Washington, D.C.
While criticizing Democrats and claiming the U.S. has a "two-tiered justice system," Greene also argued that Trump had done the right thing by not issuing pardons related to January 6 during his final days as president.
"But I've also noticed in the past day or so that the same people in certain echo chambers criticizing Pres Trump are also saying he should have pardoned all the J6'ers before he left office. Let me explain why not only this is wrong but it's also ridiculous & impossible," she wrote.
Greene posted that most January 6 defendants were arrested after Trump left office, while the former president was also dealing with his second impeachment as his term came to an end.
"How in the world was he supposed to be able to investigate over 800 people that he did NOT know and weren't even arrested yet, when he had NOTHING to do with any of it, all BEFORE he left the WH on Jan 21, 2021?" Greene tweeted.
More than 800 were reported to be facing charges arising from the Capitol riot, while tracking from Insider shows that at least 955 people have been charged as of November 22.
Greene wrote that Trump could not have been able to find "over 800 people he didn't know, investigate and vet them, magically see into the future and know what the DOJ (Department of Justice) was going to charge them."
She added that presidential pardons are "very serious" so it wouldn't have been realistic for Trump to issue them to all the January 6 defendants.
Greene dismissed criticism that Trump was a "tyrant" and argued that if he had been "then he would have done the fictional pardoning I described above."
"Actually he respected the office of the President more than most people ever would, and that's extremely important," she tweeted.
Greene also took aim at unnamed critics "criticizing Pres Trump saying he should have done more with the power of the Presidency."
"Do you people want a tyrant? Do you really? Because once that door is opened, it doesn't shut," she wrote in her final tweet.
"Be careful the critics you listen to and be careful who you follow because you might find out the words they whisper that tickle your ears lead you down the path of destruction," the congresswoman concluded.
Newsweek has asked former President Trump's office for comment.
Greene is expected to play a large role in the Republican House majority when the new Congress begins on January 3 and she has said she will support House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
That decision represents a break with some on the Republican right who don't want to see McCarthy elected speaker.
Noel Fritsch, publisher of conservative website National File, told longtime Trump ally Roger Stone on Friday that Greene was "trying to white knight for her good guy Kevin" and said he was "obviously off the Marjorie train."
"Marjorie Taylor-Greene? I guess I would call myself very disappointed," Stone said.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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