Page 7 - AHATA

A2 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 29 april 2025
Former Jan. 6 prosecutor warns Trump’s pardons could encourage

future political violence

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER history of the Jan. 6 attack.
Associated Press While vying to return to the
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mi- White House, Trump repeat-
chael Romano spent more edly downplayed the vio-
than 17 years at the Justice lence that left more than 100
Department, eventually be- police officers injured, and
coming a supervisor on the lauded the rioters as patriots
team that would prosecute and hostages whom he con-
more than 1,500 people tended were unfairly perse-
charged in the attack on cuted by the Justice Depart-
the U.S. Capitol. ment for their political beliefs.
The moment he watched the The scope of Trump’s clem-
largest investigation in de- ency hours after the inaugu-
partment history get wiped ration came as a surprise to
away with the stroke of a pen many, considering the presi-
on President Donald Trump’s dent had suggested in the
first day back in the White weeks prior that instead of
House Romano knew he had blanket pardons, he would
to leave. look at the Jan. 6 defendants
“I knew on January 20th, on a case-by-case basis.
when the pardons were an- Trump’s proclamation de-
nounced, that I needed to scribed the prosecution as
find my way out,” Romano “a grave national injustice”
said in an interview with The and declared that the par-
Associated Press weeks after Michael Romano, former Jan. 6 prosecutor, speaks during an interview, Thursday, April 24, 2025, dons would begin “a process
his resignation from the Jus- in Washington. Associated Press of national reconciliation.”
tice Department. “It would Trump’s pardons led to the
be untenable for me to stay, and by other right-wing ex- weeks since Trump’s new of 1812. release from prison of the
given the pardons and given tremists, as I understand it, leadership has taken over Romano joined the Justice leaders of far-right extrem-
the false narratives that were is to recognize that if you and begun making sweep- Department in 2007 straight ist groups convicted of or-
being spread about January support the president and ing changes to align the law out of law school, and was chestrating violent plots to
6.” if you commit violence in enforcement agency with working in the section in stop the peaceful transfer
Now, Romano says he fears support of the president, the priorities of the Republi- Washington that handles of power as well as rioters
Trump’s decision to pardon that he might insulate you can president whom the de- public corruption cases on convicted of brutal attacks

even the most violent rioters from the consequences, that partment once prosecuted. Jan. 6, 2021. He recalled on police — many of whose
whom his own vice presi- he might protect you from Trump’s return to the White watching the riot unfold on crimes were captured on
dent once said “obviously” the criminal justice system,” House has ushered in a diz- television, and quickly decid- camera and broadcast on
shouldn’t be pardoned Romano said. “And so that zying change for many in ing he wanted to help with live TV. Trump has defended

could embolden right-wing might encourage people to the Justice Department, the prosecution of what he his pardons, saying the sen-
extremists and encourage commit these sort of acts.” but perhaps few have felt it described as a “crime of his- tences handed down for
future political violence. Romano is among dozens of more than the lawyers who toric proportions.” actions that day were “ri-
“The way that the pardons Justice Department lawyers spent years working on the Trump’s pardons cemented diculous and excessive” and
have been received by the who have resigned, been largest-scale serious attack the president’s yearslong that “these are people who
January 6th defendants pushed out or fired in the on the Capitol since the war campaign to rewrite the actually love our country.” q

Disability-rights arguments grow heated at Supreme Court, though

sweeping ruling appears unlikely

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court grew unusu- commodate her. should have a double re-
Associated Press disability-rights case at the ally heated on Monday, in- Their attorney, Roman Mar- gime,” she said.
cluding accusations of lying tinez, said the district’s posi- At the insistence of Justice
and references to one side’s tion had shifted to a poten- Neil Gorsuch, she withdrew
position being a potential tial “five-alarm fire” for the the allegation that the other
“five-alarm fire.” disability-rights community. side had lied but held firm
The appeal comes from Instead of defending the to the contention that dis-
a teenage girl with a rare lower-court decisions that ability-rights claims should
form of epilepsy whose fam- set a different legal standard be held to a higher legal
ily says some courts have to sue schools, they argued standard.
made it too hard to sue pub- that all claims over accom- The justices appeared skep-
lic schools that fail to make modations for people with tical of that argument, with
sure students get what they disabilities should be held to Justice Amy Coney Barrett
need to learn. the higher same standard. calling it a “sea change”
Her family appealed to the The school district’s lawyer, and questioning whether
Supreme Court after lower Lisa Blatt, pushed back on any lower courts had ad-
courts blocked their discrimi- the idea that their argu- opted a similar view.
nation case despite findings ments had changed. “They A decision in the case is
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. that her Minnesota school are adding words to our expected by the end of
17, 2024. hadn’t done enough to ac-
Associated Press mouth. We never said you June.q