How Utahns feel about Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons, and Biden’s pardon of his son 

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned all of the people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Many Utahns did not approve of Trump’s decision, according to the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by HarrisX.

More than half of Utah voters, or 53%, said they disapprove of Trump pardoning or commuting the sentences of the rioters.

Among Republicans, about 57% supported Trump’s move, while 35% disapproved and 8% said they didn’t know. Meanwhile, only 17% of Democrats approved, and 83% disapproved.

The poll was conducted among a representative sample of 805 registered Utah voters on Feb. 18-25, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Despite Trump’s executive order, pardoning the individuals involved in Jan. 6 proved complicated. As Politico reported, the FBI found evidence of other unrelated crimes committed by the Jan. 6 rioters, and the pardon doesn’t extend to those charges.

In one case, Benjamin Martin was also convicted for illegal possession of a firearm, which he claims was connected to the Jan. 6 event. The weapons were discovered in his home.

Another defendant, Jeremy Brown was convicted of the unlawful possession of firearms, grenades and classified information.

The Justice Department has argued that Trump offered blanket pardons, but the official document only says “their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

During his joint address to Congress, Trump praised police officers and said his administration will offer them “the support, protection and respect they so dearly deserve.”

“The problem is the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they are starting to respect it and they soon will respect it,” he said.

His statement prompted many Democrats to call out what they see as a double standard.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas., wrote in a post on X, “The height of hypocrisy. Trump talks a big game about standing with … the blue, yet on the first day of his administration he pardoned hundreds of cop-beaters who tried to steal an election on January 6, 2021.”

Voters disapprove of Joe Biden’s pardons

Utah voters expressed similar displeasure with President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, during the final days of his presidency.

Three in four Utah voters said they don’t approve of Biden pardoning his son. Among Republicans, about 86% said they disapprove while only 11% approve and 3% said they don’t know. By comparison, 41% of Democrats said they disapprove of Hunter’s pardon, and 46% approved, while about 13% said they didn’t know.

Hunter Biden is still involved in legal battles. In his 2023 lawsuit, Biden alleged Garrett Ziegler, a former aide to Trump, of publishing roughly 128,000 emails found on Biden’s controversial laptop.

As the New York Post reported, Biden’s motion to dismiss the case was granted Friday. Biden said he couldn’t pursue the case because of a “lack of resources” following the Pacific Palisades fires in January, when his rental home became unlivable and he incurred a “significant debt.” He since has struggled to find a new place to live and earn a living.

“So, Plaintiff must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family’s living expenses as opposed to this litigation,” the document said.

Biden lived off the sales of his art and his 2021 book Beautiful Things but his income has suffered since his father left office.

In his last day as president, Biden extended preemptive pardons to five members of his extended family, including his two brothers, James Biden and Francis Biden, and his sister Valerie Biden Owens, as the Deseret News previously reported.

He also issued preemptive pardons to former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, who helped coordinate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as “Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee,” according to Roll Call.

James Biden’s wife Sarah Jones and Valerie Biden Owens’ husband John Owens also received preemptive pardons, though none of them have been charged with any crimes.

Asked whether they approved of Biden granting preemptive presidential pardons to individuals, including family members, lawmakers, and other policymakers, about 21% of Utah voters said they approved and 71% said they don’t approve.

“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said at the time. “But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”

“Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finance,” he added.