- Mitch McConnell told reporters he disagrees with Donald Trump's suggestion of potential pardons for Capitol rioters.
- Trump floated the possibility of pardons over the weekend, arguing that January 6 participants have "been treated so unfairly."
- Trump and McConnell have an increasingly tortured relationship.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that people convicted of participating in the Capitol riot should not be pardoned, swatting back Donald Trump's suggestion just days after the former president continued to underplay the attack on the Capitol.
"What we saw here on January the 6th was an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another, which had never happened before in the history of our country," McConnell told reporters. "165 people have pleaded guilty to criminal behavior … I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes."
—CSPAN (@cspan) February 1, 2022
Trump said at a rally in Texas on Saturday that he would consider pardoning people convicted of charges related to the insurrection, saying that January 6 participants have been "treated so unfairly."
"If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly," Trump said. "And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly."
More than 786 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far, according to Insider's tracking. Only 178 guilty pleas have been entered thus far. Among those who have received sentences is a former Army private who was charged with assaulting police officers.
McConnell is among a growing list of Republicans who have criticized Trump for floating pardons. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is among Trump's closest allies, said the suggestion was "inappropriate."
Trump, who has repeatedly attacked McConnell over the last year and sought to oust him from GOP leadership, has an increasingly fractured relationship with the Senate's top Republican. A former top McConnell aide previously told Insider that their relationship "has not recovered" since the insurrection.
Trump and his allies have engaged in a yearlong campaign to underplay the riot. Since condemning the attack early last year, Trump has argued that the "real insurrection" was the election itself and furthered other falsehoods about the worst attack on the Capitol since the British torched the building during the War of 1812.
Presidential pardon powers are one of the few areas of the presidency that have virtually no oversight. Trump was heavily criticized for his decision to pardon or commute the sentences of political allies like former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former advisor Steve Bannon.