DeSantis vows to use presidential pardons for 'weaponization' victims

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vowed that, if elected president, he would use the presidential pardon to relieve the victims of any weaponization of the justice system and indicated that such executive clemency could extend to former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis, who officially launched his campaign on Wednesday, made the remarks during an appearance on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show," after the eponymous hosts asked him about his inclinations towards pardoning Jan. 6 defendants specifically.

"Do you think the January 6 defendants deserve to have their cases examined by a Republican president? And if Trump, let’s say, gets charged with federal offenses and you are the president of the United States, would you look at potentially pardoning Trump himself based on the evidence that might emerge of those charges?" asked Travis.

DeSantis responded by asserting that the federal criminal justice system had been politically weaponized and vowed to address any uneven applications of the judicial process.

"On day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who people are victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we will be aggressive in issuing pardons," he replied. "I would say any example of disfavored treatment based on politics, or weaponization would be included in that review, no matter how small or how big."

He further contended that he would use his pardon powers "on the front end" rather than doing so at the end of his administration.

His remarks come on the same day that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes received an 18-year prison sentence on Thursday after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.