MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-backed candidate in Wisconsin's pivotal state Supreme Court race said Monday that he didn't object to President Donald Trump using his power to pardon when asked about clemency granted to about 1,500 rioters who were convicted of crimes related to the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Presidents have the power to pardon,” said Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican attorney general on a press conference call. “President Biden has issued pardons. President Trump has now issued pardons as he’s come in and presidents over history have done that. It’s a power they have. I don’t object to them utilizing that power.”
Schimel faces Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford in the April 1 election. The winner will determine whether the court remains under 4-3 liberal control or flips to a conservative majority.
Schimel's comment came in response to a question about whether he supported pardoning of those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Schimel repeated his position that prosecutors overreached in cases involving nonviolent offenders. He also said those were violent and attacked police officers “should be prosecuted and held accountable and judges should impose sentences that are just under the circumstances.”
Schimel's campaign did not respond to an email seeking clarity on his comments made both in support of the prosecutions and of the pardons.
Within hours of taking office last week, Trump issued a sweeping clemency order covering around 1,500 rioters for their role on the Capitol attack that attempted to block congressional certification of Joe Biden ’s 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021.
Those pardons have generated pushback from some Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who was on the call with Schimel to announce his endorsement. Van Orden told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he did not support pardoning those who attacked police officers.
A former U.S. Capitol police officer who was there the day of the attack in 2021 was coming to Wisconsin on Tuesday to criticize Schimel for saying on conservative talk radio earlier this month that some Jan. 6 defendants did not get a “fair shot” in the courts.
Schimel is endorsed in the race by more than 70 sheriffs in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Police Association and the Waukesha County Police Chiefs Association.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race has garnered national attention, including a post on the social media platform X by Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO who is a close ally of Trump. Musk referenced a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from last year legalizing absentee ballot drop boxes and said, “Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!”
Schimel said the message caught him by surprise.
“I don’t know what’s in Elon Musk’s mind,” Schimel said. “I’ve never spoken with the world’s richest man. It was a surprise to me when he tweeted out something recognizing that I exist, so I don’t know where he’s coming from.”
Schimel made the comments during a news conference where he was endorsed by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and the state’s six other Republican members of Congress. Crawford has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party and many Democratic office-holders, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Johnson said Crawford represents the “radical left” and if she wins she will vote to overturn the state’s voter ID law and the Act 10 law passed in 2011 that effectively ended collective bargaining for most state workers. Crawford worked as an attorney on lawsuits challenging both of those laws.
There is no pending lawsuit challenging voter ID, but a question on the April 1 ballot would elevate the requirement from state law to the Wisconsin Constitution. Republicans say that will inoculate it from future legal challenges.
A Dane County judge in December found the Act 10 law to be unconstitutional but put the ruling on hold pending appeal. Teachers unions who filed the lawsuit have asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly, bypassing the court of appeals.
Crawford's campaign did not return an email seeking comment.
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
