Donald Trump accused of ‘witness tampering’ for Jan 6 pardon comments

Former US President Donald Trump‘s recent remark that he would seek to pardon the Jan 6 defendants if re-elected in 2024 could count as “witness tampering,” a Conservative attorney has said.

Attorney George Conway, who was considered by Trump for the post of Solicitor General of the United States but withdrew himself, spoke out against the former President’s remark at a show for MSNBC.

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“I mean he’s not president, I don’t think he’s ever going to get elected president again. But it’s kind of like, it’s an attempt at witness tampering frankly a little bit,” the 58-year-old lawyer told host Katie Phang.

“And it just kills me, he’s doing this in front of a Faith and Freedom conference, the guy who paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels and tried to end American democracy is at the Faith and Freedom Conference getting a standing ovation,” Conway added.

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The lawyer was referring to Trump’s speech at the Faith and Freedom Conference on Friday, where-in the 75-year-old promised presidential pardons to defendants in the investigation into the Capitol insurrection.

Speaking at the conference in Tennessee, Trump said that the Jan 6 defendants were “having their live destroyed and being treated worse than terrorists and murderers despite most being charged with parading through the Capitol. Most people should not be treated the way they’re being treated.”

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The former President added that if he became president again, he would be “looking at them very very seriously for pardons,” to the delight of the audience.

Notably, this is not the first time Trump has suggested leniency towards Jan 6 defendants. Earlier, during a rally in Texas in January, the 75-year-old said that if were re-elected, he would “treat those people from January 6 fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.”