General Discussion

Aug. 18, 2025, 2:02 PM EDT
By Jordan Rubin

President Donald Trump began his second term by ordering blanket pardons and dismissals for his supporters who were charged for their actions on Jan. 6. But in doing so, did the president effectively end the subsequent prosecution of a Democrat before it even started?

The question arises in a court filing from U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J. She was charged in the spring with allegedly assaulting federal officers at an immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey, while she was conducting oversight with other Democratic politicians amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

McIver invoked the Jan. 6 dismissals in her motion to dismiss the case for being selectively enforced and prosecuted, as well as vindictive. “The Department of Justice’s dismissal of prosecutions arising from the January 6 attack on the Capitol — including those of more than 160 defendants charged with violating the same statute upon which the indictment relies here — is robust evidence of unconstitutional differential treatment,” her lawyers wrote.

They observed that the congresswoman’s alleged conduct was “manifestly less egregious than storming the Capitol, throwing explosives, beating officers with bats and riot shields, and spraying them with pepper spray” ...

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/doj-lamonica-mciver-assault-case-jan-6-pardons-rcna225562