Flagship newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC spent more than 46 minutes covering President Trump pardoning defendants on Jan. 6, but barely had time to mention former President Joe Biden issuing a preemptive pardon to his family, according to a new study.
During the final hours of his administration last week, Biden issued preliminary pardons to relatives James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens and Francis W. Biden. On the same day, Trump signed a pardon for more than 1,500 accused of crimes stemming from the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, shortly after resuming office.
The Media Research Center analyzed morning and evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC from Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 through the morning of Jan. 22 to determine how the pardons were covered. While the pair of orders occurred on the same day, the coverage was not exactly balanced.
The conservative media watchdog found that ABC, CBS and NBC spent 46 minutes and 32 seconds on Trump’s apologies, compared to just three minutes and 32 seconds on Biden’s preemptive apologies.
ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight” spent 15 minutes and 30 seconds on Trump’s apologies compared to a short 34 seconds on Biden.
CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News devoted 16 minutes and 32 seconds to Trump’s apologies compared to only 64 seconds distributed by Biden, while NBC’s “Today” and “Nightly News” spent 14 minutes and 30 seconds on Trump and Less than two minutes on Biden.
Trump earlier promised he would “act very quickly” on his first day in office to pardon the so-called “hostage,” a move that angered critics and fueled criticism that he was justifying violence against police. Biden’s earlier pardon of his family was also criticized by political rivals, but it received only a fraction of the coverage his successor received.
Trump opened up about the Jan. 6 pardon last week during an exclusive Oval Office interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“Why did they get an apology?” Hannity asked.
“A number of reasons,” Trump said. “Number one, they were there for 3 1/2 years, for a long time and a lot in solitary confinement … they were treated so badly. They were treated like the worst criminals in history.”
“And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote,” he continued. “You should be allowed to protest a vote.”
Hannity said no one should be allowed to “occupy the Capitol,” but the president insisted they have served their time.
“These people have served an awfully long time,” Trump said, claiming most incidents with police were “minor.”
Trump added that he was “very clear” about his plans, while Biden previously dismissed the idea of pre-pardons.
Biden was asked in 2020 about reports that then-President Trump was considering preemptive pardons for his family members and even himself.
“Well, it worries me in terms of what kind of precedent he sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice,” Biden told CNN anchor Jake Tapper at the time.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
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