Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) stated during a CNN town hall that she would not preemptively pardon former President Donald Trump before his criminal cases play out, emphasizing the importance of due process.
She expressed her belief that Trump would want to defend himself and prove any mistreatment.
Haley indicated that she would consider a pardon only after a conviction, citing the need to avoid further dividing the country and emphasizing her commitment to healing national divisions.
“On accountability, if you become president and Donald Trump’s trials are still ongoing, would you preemptively pardon him without waiting for a conviction the way that Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked.
Nikki Haley says she would pardon Donald Trump:
“The last thing we need is an 80-year-old president sitting in jail because that is just going to further divide our country.”
pic.twitter.com/jL7S3xY0ED— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 19, 2024
“No. I think everything needs to play out. I think it’s important that that happens and I honestly think President Trump would want that to happen. If he wants to defend himself and prove that he has been treated, you know, the wrong way or whether it’s political, I think he would want to fight for that,” Haley said.
“You know, you only want to talk about a pardon after someone has been convicted, so I would assume that we’d let that play out and I would think he would want that to play out,” she said.
“If he were convicted, would you then pardon him?” Tapper pressed.
“I said I would pardon him with the simple reason of, you know, when you talk about a pardon, someone’s already been found guilty, but for me, the last thing we need is an 80-year-old president sitting in jail because that’s just going to further divide our country,” Haley said.
“This is no longer about whether he’s innocent or guilty, this is about the fact how do we bring the country back together, and I am determined to make sure all of this division, all of this chaos goes away, and I think a pardon for him would make all of that go away and I think it would be healing for the country.”
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