Transcript of Anderson Cooper: Trump's pardons is part of effort to rewrite January 6 history

Today, the fallout from President Trump's executive order, the first one he signed in the oval office on Monday, pardoning, commuting sentences, and dropping the cases of more than 1,500 people involved in the violent attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. Now, keeping them honest, we're talking about a number of people charged with very serious crimes who received lengthy prison sentences, and as we saw today, in many cases, show no remorse at all. Case in point, this man, Stuart Rodes, who showed up on Capitol Hill today a few short hours ago. He was one of the January sixth ring leaders and organizers, not just returning to the scene of the crime, but apparently being welcomed back to it by some lawmakers. He says he spoke with two, one from the Tampa area, the other from near Dallas. Afterwards, Rodes spoke with Sinenz Mano-Raju.

What did I do on January sixth? The I caused him harm. Did I touch any officer? Show me the video of you punching anybody. I didn't touch anyone. I stood outside. I exercised my right to free speech. I talked about what I was seeing. I talked about what I felt about the election, that it was unconstitutionally illegal.

Did you condemn the violence against the police that day?

Here's what I would say about that. I think that when you have police officers using excessive force like Michael Burge shooting an unarmed woman in the neck and killing her, who's obviously not a legal force throughout the end. He's a really big guy.

They were trying to break into the speaker's lobby. Five feet away from them.

So you just want them to use deadly force against everyone there?

I mean, they were using a sledgehammer to break down the glass door.

Rodes blaming police for the violence. More than 150 officers were injured that day. Others died in the days following, one of a stroke, others by suicide. Just for reference, at his trial, prosecutors played a recording of that man, Rodes, that he made on January 10th. I'm quoting from the recording now. It said, My only regret is they should have brought rifles. Rodes says in the reporting, which was obtained by the FBI, We should have brought rifles. We could have fixed it right then and there. I'd hang effing Pelosi from the lampe post. Rodes told Mono today that when he said that, he was drunk and pissed off, adding, That's still protected speech, though. In any case, he and the militia he founded, the so-called Oath Keepers, were deeply involved, not just in January sixth, but also a larger, longer running effort to overturn the election. This earned him a very rare conviction, an 18-year sentence on the charge of seditious conspiracy, which isn't just words. Sedicious conspiracy is a joint effort, quoting from the federal criminal code, to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of the United States. That is who some lawmakers apparently welcome to their offices today.

Someone duly tried, convicted in sentence for trying to overthrow or destroy by force the government that they are a part of. So the guy found guilty of that is now free and roaming the halls of Congress. On the same day that House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new subcommittee, its goal, in his words, exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January sixth Select Committee. Seen as Monset Rajah spoke with him as well today before he spoke to Stuart Rodes and asked Johnson about the pardons, impressionately, whether he'd welcome the recipients back to the place they attacked.

Republicans have long said, you guys back to blue. How do you justify if we say that when Trump just pardon a bunch of violent January sixth rioters who attacked Capitol police? And if those rioters come to the Capitol, will you welcome them back here?

Look, everybody can describe this however they want. The President has the pardon and commutation authority. It's his decision. And I think what was made clear all along is that peaceful protests and people who engage in that should never be punished.

So that's a response. It's not really an answer to the question. It sounds reasonable. Everyone can describe this however they want, he said, and that's true. It's not illegal to make up stuff. It's the President's decision to pardon anyone he wants. That's also true. And peaceful protests in the people who engage in them, that should never be punished, which sounds fine. But that's not what happened on January sixth. It doesn't square with the actual facts and what we all saw happen. The President made no such distinctions between violent and nonviolent offenders. He didn't even draw the line at sedition. It was clemency for everyone after a lengthy campaign rebranding them all as hostages.

These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon. Yes. Full pardon.

So today we learn that some of those people whom he calls hostages, but again, who were in fact duly prosecuted, tried, convicted, and sentenced rioters and ring leaders may soon be guests of the President at the White House. That's what two sources familiar with the discussions of it tell us. January sixth, inmates at the White House. That news came shortly after the fraternal order police finally broke their silence and wade in on the pardons. The group, along with the International Chiefs of Police Association, issued a statement reading in part, When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable. It sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence. Hard to argue with that notion. Even then, President Trump paid lip service to it a week after January sixth.

America is a nation of laws. Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice.

That was from January 13th, 2021. He would go on, as you know, to lionize one of the perpetrators who was shot and killed trying to break into a hallway with then-Speaker Pelosi nearby, the same person Stuart Rodes talked about with Mono Raju. Then he began calling them hostages and promising pardons. And that said, as recently as November, he was suggesting he would not pardon violent offenders. His vice President-elect even said so on camera. If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned. And there's a little bit of a gray area there, but we're very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law. Well, not so obvious to the President. Here's some of the very fine people the President can now invite to the White House. There's Patrick McCahee III, who assaulted DC Metro Police Officer Daniel Hedges with a police shield in the tunnel of the Capitol. He was serving a seven-and-a-a-half year sentence. The judge in in his case called him, A poster child of all that was dangerous and appalling about January sixth. There's David Dempsey, seen here in that same tunnel, aiming a can of bear repellent spray at police.

He also used a crutch to smash an officer's head. Prosecutor said he used his hands, feet, flagpoles, crutches, pepper spray, broken pieces of furniture, and anything else he could get his hands on his weapons. A judge sentenced him to 20 years. The President could invite Daniel Rodriguez, who repeatedly shocked Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone in the neck with a stun gun. A part of the mob that beat and nearly killed him that day. Hopefully, they would at least put him through a magnetometer if he visits the White House. We told you about Rodriguez last night. He was doing twelve and a half years, convicted of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. But we want to tell you more tonight about the ring leaders and the organizers for whom January sixth was neither their first nor potentially their last time sowing political unrest and violence. Here's Stuart Rodes back before the 2020 election.

We have men already stationed outside DC as a nuclear option in case they to remove the President illegally, we will step in and stop it.

So that clip was from November third, 2020. He was talking to Alex Jones and referring to members of his so-called Oath Keepers Militia and what they were in position to do to stop the transfer of power. Now, here's a speech he gave that to member talking about then President Trump, who had already lost the election.

He needs to know from you that you are with him, that he does not do it now while he is Commander-in-Chief, we're going to have to do it ourselves later in a much more desperate it much more bloody war. Let's get it on now while he is still the Commander-in-Chief.

Now, both clips were played at Rhoads' trial. The jury also heard testimony from group members about a large cache of weapons the group stashed in a nearby Virginia hotel for January 6, said the witness, I had not seen that many weapons in one location since I was in the military. Eight other members of his group were either convicted of or pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. Then there's Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the so-called Proud Boys, serving 22 years for a seditious conspiracy, the longest sentence handed down. His group took part in confronting police at the Capitol and encouraging others to breach police lines. According to trial evidence, Tarrio created a special chapter of the group known as the Ministry of Self Defense. The members of which conspired to prevent, hinder, and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote, and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States. So that's Enrique Tarrio. And while there's no indication yet whether he or Stuart Rose or any of the other people we've shown may end up at the White House, the President has already shown that he cannot condemn even them, the worst of the worst.

Or more ominously, some would say, even close the door on whatever their next act may be, which is why something he said, which we played last night, bears repeating.

The leaders of the proud boys and the Oath Keepers were free following their pardons yesterday. At the time, back in 2021, you urge them to stand back and stand by. Is there now a place for them in the political conversation?

Well, we have to see they've been given a pardon. I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive.

So he's not saying no to a seat at the table, the political table for Tarrio and Rodes. What about House Speaker Mike Johnson? He said today he doesn't second-guess President Trump on the pardons, then added this.

We believe in redemption. We believe in second chances. We're not looking backwards, you're looking forward.

Well, apparently so is Enrique Tarrio. Here's what he told Alex Jones last night. They didn't care about the evidence. They cared about putting Trump supporters in prison. Well, now it's our church.