Trump's new pardon attorney discussed pardoning final Jan. 6 defendants — including Oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes, lawyer says
New Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin has discussed pardon applications for some of the only remaining Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants who weren't given full clemency by President Trump, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer told CBS News.
Peter Ticktin, an attorney working to secure full pardons for a number of Jan. 6 defendants, told CBS News he met with Martin last week to discuss pardon requests for Rhodes and 10 others. Martin was in his first full week in his new job as pardon attorney after Mr. Trump withdrew his nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.
Martin posted photos of his meeting with Ticktin on X last week, saying Ticktin had "recommendations for pardons" and "I listened." CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Ticktin said that in addition to a potential pardon for Rhodes, pardon applications were discussed for Proud Boys Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Ticktin also mentioned applications for Dan Wilson and Elias Costianes, two other Jan 6 defendants who still face prison sentences due to firearm charges unrelated to the Capitol riot.
Politico was first to report on Ticktin's conversation about Rhodes.
Mr. Trump issued pardons to almost everybody convicted over the Jan. 6 riot on the first day of his second term, and he directed any pending charges to be dropped.
However, a group of 14 current and former members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers — including Rhodes — were only given commutations that allowed them to leave prison but left their criminal convictions in place. Many of those defendants were found guilty of more serious charges, like conspiring to use force to resist the transfer of power and seditious conspiracy.
More than 1,500 people were charged as a result of their alleged conduct on Jan. 6, and at least 1,100 have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences, according to Justice Department data. More than 700 defendants completed their sentences or did not receive sentences of incarceration. More than 170 people were accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, such as a fire extinguisher or bear spray, against police officers, prosecutors have said.
Ticktin is working with Jan. 6 defendant Trenniss Evans, who was sentenced to 36 months of probation and 20 days of prison time for his actions on Jan. 6. He pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building in 2022.
Evans, who is CEO of the conservative nonprofit American Rights Alliance, told CBS News his expectation is that the 11 pardon applications submitted to Martin will go through the standard review process. He said his group had so far received no assurances from Martin or the Justice Department on whether the pardons will be granted.
"The only assurances that we have is that we have people that are in the Justice Department now and in the proper places in the administration that are going to give a realistic and fair review to these cases because of the nauseating stance that the previous administration took against individuals related to January 6," Evans told CBS News.
The next step in the pardon process, Ticktin said, is for Martin to consult with Alice Johnson, Mr. Trump's "pardon czar," who was granted clemency in Mr. Trump's first term after more than two decades of prison time for a nonviolent drug offense.
"She's got a pretty important position at this point. I mean, she's the one that has to decide these things," Ticktin told CBS News. "Pardons need to be given out, but at the same time, none should be given out, you know, indiscriminately."
Ticktin said he is working with Mark McCloskey, the man who infamously pointed a firearm at Black Lives Matter protestors back in 2020, to file civil suits against the government for their treatment of Jan. 6 defendants.
"These are good American citizens, the kind of people that most people would enjoy being with, except that they were used as pawns here and incarcerated the way they were," Ticktin told CBS News.
How Trump has used his pardon power
So far in his second term, Mr. Trump has pardoned Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on public corruption charges related to attempts to sell former President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat, and Ross Ulbricht, who was sent to life in prison for his role in creating and operating the darknet market Silk Road.
On Monday, Trump said he was pardoning Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted of making several businessmen sworn law enforcement officers in exchange for cash bribes.
The Constitution gives presidents virtually limitless power to pardon people for federal crimes. Many presidents have drawn controversy for how they've used this power: Mr. Trump issued pardons in his first term to his former campaign chair Paul Manafort and his son-in-law's father Charles Kushner, while Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter and Bill Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich. But legal experts say Mr. Trump's clemency for Jan. 6 rioters — including people convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers — has been particularly broad, especially after Mr. Trump previously said he planned on offering "case-by-case" pardons to riot defendants.
Ticktin said that he also spoke to Martin about former Arkansas State Senator Jonathan Woods, who was sentenced in 2018 to more than 18 years in prison for a bribery scheme. Woods' case was prosecuted in part by former special counsel Jack Smith when he led the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section between 2010 and 2015, before prosecuting Mr. Trump.
In addition to the 11 pardon applications submitted last week, Evans said his group is working to "seek justice" for Tina Peters, a former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk who was sentenced to over eight years in prison on state charges. Peters was convicted of giving a man affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — a prominent promoter of false claims that voting machines were manipulated in the 2020 election — access to county election systems.
Jurors found Peters guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with Colorado's Secretary of State. Since her charges were in state court, Mr. Trump is unable to pardon her.
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