‘Virtually Treasonous’: John Bolton Rips Trump’s Willingness to Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton on Tuesday called Donald Trump's comments that he was inclined to pardon many of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists “virtually treasonous."

CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked Bolton his opinion of remarks Trump made about pardoning the rioters during the town hall that she moderated last week. An audience member asked Trump if he would “pardon the January 6th rioters who were convicted of federal offenses.”

“I am inclined to pardon many of them," Trump replied. "I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control."

On May 6, the Justice Department announced that 1,030 people have been charged with crimes related to the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Of those, 570 have pleaded guilty to their charges, and another 78 who pleaded not guilty were convicted in trial.

In his interview with CNN Tuesday, Bolton said of the remarks: "If anybody wants to know what a Trump administration would look like, when he’s pardoning the people who rioted on January 6, I think that’s all you need to know."