former Nixon counsel warns

https://web.archive.org/web/20220131035253/https://www.businessinsider.com/nixon-counsel-john-dean-trump-stuff-of-dictators-2022-1

John Dean, who served as White House counsel during Nixon's Watergate scandal, has disavowed Donald Trump's claim that he would consider pardoning the January 6 Capitol rioters if he were to win the presidency in 2024.

"If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly," Trump said at his "Save America" rally in Texas on Saturday. "And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly."

Dean, who was disbarred for obstruction of justice and held in government custody for four months during the Watergate scandal, tweeted his disagreement with Trump's promise of pardons.

"This is beyond being a demagogue to the stuff of dictators," Dean tweeted.

"He is defying the rule of law. Failure to confront a tyrant only encourages bad behavior," Dean added. "If thinking Americans don't understand what Trump is doing and what the criminal justice system must do, we are all in big trouble!"

Dean is among several prominent Republicans who have come out in opposition to Trump's potential plans to pardon the Capitol rioters.

Trump ally Lindsey Graham appeared on "Face the Nation" Sunday and said it was "inappropriate" for the former president to make such a suggestion.

"I don't want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol," Graham said. "There are other groups with causes that may want to go down the violent path if these people get pardoned."

"I think it's inappropriate. I don't want to reinforce that defiling the Capitol was OK. I don't want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future," Graham added.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu also broke with Trump, saying Sunday that the rioters should not be pardoned.