Dec 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

GOP Sen. Ben Sasse on Trump pardons: "Rotten to the core"

Rebecca Falconer

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) speaks as Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee — Sen. Ben Sasse during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in October 14. Photo: Hilary Swift-Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) issued a terse statement criticizing President Trump for issuing full pardons to 26 more people on Wednesday night, saying: "This is rotten to the core."

Of note: His office set up Sasse's one-line comment by stating that Trump had pardoned "another tranche of felons," specifically naming former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's longtime associate Roger Stone, both of whom the statement said "flagrantly and repeatedly violated the law and harmed Americans."

The big picture: Sasse was endorsed by Trump in 2019.

The senator publicly criticized the president over the summer on issues including QAnon supporters, the administration's foreign policy, national security and for mishandling the pandemic.
Trump attacked Sasse in a series of tweets in October, ahead of the election that saw the senator re-elected in Nebraska.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more context on Sasse and Trump.

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GOP Sen. Ben Sasse on Trump pardons: "Rotten to the core"

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