It was an impulsive decision by President Trump to pardon all of the January 6 criminals, including violent offenders, according to reporting by Axios.

"Trump just said: 'Fuck it: Release 'em all,’ an adviser familiar with the discussions,” told the news site.

This contradicted the promise that Vice President Vance made eight days earlier on Fox News: "If you committed violence that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned."

But those who committed violence that day were obviously pardoned.

The Republican attempt to try to justify Trump’s behavior now rests almost entirely on whataboutism.

According to Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich the Third, the 1,500 January 6 criminals deserved Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free card because of President Biden.

For this revelation we have to thank Liz Ruskin of Alaska Public Media, the only Alaska reporter working full time in Washington, D.C. I highly recommend this excellent piece she did after talking to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sullivan and Begich Wednesday.

This is the kind of coverage that all Alaska news organizations should be pursuing, even those without reporters in the Capitol. It can be done from Alaska.

Sullivan and Begich are both on the ballot in 2026 and we need coverage that goes beyond the reprinting of their press releases.

As is his standard practice, Sullivan refused numerous requests from Ruskin for an interview. He must be afraid of talking to her on the record because this happens all the time.

I can’t count how often Ruskin has had to report over the years that “Sullivan denied numerous requests for an interview” in her stories.

Sullivan always makes time for Fox News or other institutions where he doesn’t have to worry about real questions and enjoys the political equivalent of comfot food.

On Wednesday, Sullivan “declined multiple interview requests this week to talk about the pardons,” Ruskin reported.

She did manage to record him for a moment as he hurried to an elevator, promising that one of his employees would communicate his thoughts.

“We’ll send you a – whatever questions you have we’ll send you a statement,” he said.

Sullivan’s first step when asked by reporters this week about Trump was “didn’t read it.” His fallback position was to have his employees speak for him.

“A Sullivan aide emailed a statement. It said that Biden’s pardons and commutations were worse than Trump’s,” Ruskin wrote.

In a real interview a claim that like from Sullivan would require him to explain himself, something he can’t do.

When you have your employees communicate pre-packaged remarks in writing you can get away with flubdub you cannot possibly defend.

“I don’t know the details of each of the 1,600 individual cases—how long defendants have served related to the severity of their offense. So I won’t comment on the specifics,” Sullivan’s office quoted him as saying in his packaged remarks.

“In general, however, as I have said since January 6—and as Vice President Vance said as recently as last week—if someone committed acts of violence against law enforcement officers, they should be held accountable.”

But Trump blew off what Vice President Vance said last week. The January 6 criminals who committed acts of violence have been pardoned. Case closed. The violent offenders walked.

In a real interview Sullivan would have to admit that Trump has not held them accountable. Sullivan would have to admit that Trump is wrong, which Sullivan won’t do.

Sullivan’s communications director, Amanda Coyne, who gets $179,000 a year for not answering questions, stopped replying to my emails a long time ago. She may now be preparing a new Sullivan term paper that his office will send to anyone who writes to challenge his support for freeing the January 6 criminals.

Anyone who does receive the Sullivan term paper should forward me a copy at dermotmcole@gmail.com

If Sullivan’s claim is banal, Begich the Third’s was even worse.

“I mean, I think we saw some very controversial and concerning, frankly, last-minute pardons for Joe Biden's personal family members,” said Begich the Third.

The twisted logic is that Biden’s actions, which Begich finds deplorable, justify Trump’s actions, which Begich finds praiseworthy. Here is the list of criminals and their offenses.

“I think for those folks that President Trump chose to pardon, you know, they've served their time. They've met their obligations within his capacity to make those pardons,” Begich told Ruskin.

Begich the Third is wrong. Not all of the folks that Trump pardoned served their time. They had no obligations to meet. Begich is stringing words together and pretending he makes sense.

Many of those who violently attacked police drew the longest prison terms. About 400 were still in jail until Trump’s order, the Washington Post reported.

“And I think that many people will agree—me among them—that those 1,500 folks, by and large, deserve to be pardoned,” Begich said.

MURKOWSKI/SULLIVAN SPLIT: Murkowski said she will vote against the confirmation of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense. Sullivan, who has campaigned endlessly on “Choose Respect,” supports all Trump nominees, including Hegseth.

After Murkowski made her announcement Thursday, right-wing extremist Don Bongino attacked her on social media as a “disgrace to humankind and she’s a total fraud.”

Bongino said she is the “most embarrassing member of the ‘Republican’ Senate” and “has no integrity and no real skills other pulling scams to ‘win’ elections she consistently loses.”

The attacks on Murkowski that followed were vile, with the mildest ones calling her a traitor and a coward. Trump is likely to add his own lies to the pile of sludge.

None of these attacks on Murkowski are justified or true.

Sullivan should speak up say that political opponents are lying about Murkowski. I suspect that he will not do so, however, as he has failed to defend Murkowski in the past when Trump and others lied about her. Sullivan remained silent.

It was Trump who attacked Murkowski during a 2022 campaign appearance in Anchorage by saying “And that piece of (mouthing a word he wouldn’t say aloud) voted to impeach me.”

The Republican Party in Alaska is controlled by Trump followers who regard her as an enemy because she is not a member of the Trump cult.

She has shown a great deal of courage and character in standing up for what she believes, while facing enormous pressure. The easy thing for her would be to do what Sullivan does, take orders from Trump.

Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673.