Former District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, who was attacked by rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol, said Trump’s pardon of rioters has left him feeling betrayed.
“I have been betrayed by my country, and I’ve been betrayed by those that supported Donald Trump, whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons, or for some other reason, you knew that this was coming. And here we are,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday night. “Tonight, six individuals who assaulted me, as I did my job on Jan. 6, as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers, will now walk free.”
He also criticized the GOP for its role in supporting law enforcement and Trump.
“I think that Republican Party owns a monopoly on hypocrisy when it comes to supporting or their supposed support of law enforcement, because, tonight, the leader of the Republican Party pardoned hundreds of violent cop assaulters,” Fanone said.
He was among several individuals who received preemptive pardons from President Biden on Monday morning.
Fanone said he had not communicated with the White House about that pardon prior to it and criticized the fact he had to receive it in the first place.
“All I can say is that I think it’s a sad commentary on where we are as a nation that a sitting president thought it necessary to issue a preemptive pardon to a witness in a congressional investigation, because the subject to that investigation is now the president and had promised to pursue politically motivated revenge. Again, it’s just more examples of the outrageous behavior of the current president of the United States,” he said.
He went on to express concern for the safety of his family and himself, noting the threats they’ve all received since he testified to the House Jan. 6 committee.
