Trump pardons upset prosecutors who jailed protesters


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Federal prosecutors voiced their distress this week following Donald Trump’s decision to pardon January 6th protesters, with some describing it as their worst professional experience.

Speaking to ABC News, three prosecutors shared their dismay at the pardons, which effectively nullified years of their work prosecuting individuals involved in the Capitol protests.

Ashley Akers, who handled numerous cases resulting in lengthy prison sentences for Trump supporters, expressed her profound disappointment.

“It really undermines not only the sacrifices that all these officers made, but the experiences that they went through,” Akers told the outlet.

“The public record — which is very clear and borne out in hundreds of trials — has shown that these officers are victims.”

Akers, who departed from the Department of Justice on Friday, expressed deep sadness about concluding her public prosecution career under such circumstances.

A current federal prosecutor, speaking anonymously, revealed their internal struggle with the presidential directive to dismiss these cases.

“When you are a prosecutor, state or federal, you pursue the case based on the evidence and based on the law, not based on any political consideration,” this person was quoted as saying.

“And to be told that you have to dismiss this case with overwhelming evidence is torturous,” they added.

Jason Manning, who transitioned from the DOJ to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign last summer, expressed his frustration at seeing his efforts potentially reversed.

“The idea that all of this could be wiped away with this over with the stroke of the pen made me think, personally, that it was more important to me to participate in the election in a way that would try to prevent that outcome, even if that meant giving up this job that I loved,” he lamented.

These prosecutors, along with numerous others, had worked under the Biden administration to prosecute Trump supporters who had protested alleged electoral irregularities in the 2020 presidential election.

With Trump only beginning his first week in office, there remain over 200 weeks ahead in his term.