Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he would appoint a special counsel to determine whether sentences for those convicted of charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol were “appropriate,” arguing it would “restore peace” and “restore” trust in the U.S. government.
Kennedy, who is mounting a third-party bid for the White House, made the remarks to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Monday evening’s episode of “Cuomo.”
“I would appoint a special counsel to look at that,” Kennedy said. “My purpose, Chris, is not to exonerate those people, but rather just to restore peace. I think, you know, we’re living in a time when Americans don’t trust their government anymore. And that is really what the problem is. There is no trust in government, and we need to restore that trust.”
Kennedy has sought middle ground on the Jan. 6 issue between former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee who has suggested many of those convictions were unjust, and President Biden, whose Justice Department carried out prosecutions.
The independent candidate faced criticism after his campaign sent out a fundraising email last week describing those involved in the Jan. 6 riot as “activists” who had been “stripped of their Constitutional liberties.”
His campaign’s spokesperson later said the email language was an error.
“That statement was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” Stefanie Spear’s statement said. “It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process.”
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Kennedy told Cuomo that his campaign had made a “couple” of mistakes for which he had taken responsibility.
“It started with an email that went out about Jan. 6 from my campaign that did not reflect my views about Jan. 6, and it was followed very quickly by a press release that had a factual error in it,” Kennedy said Monday. “All I can say is: This is my responsibility. It’s my campaign. We have a lot of hardworking people on the campaign, but we’re all drinking from fire hoses.”
Kennedy stated his belief that Jan. 6, 2021, was a “protest that turned into a riot,” but added that labeling it an insurrection would depend on the definition.
“I think there were people who wanted insurrection,” he said. “But I don’t know what your definition of an insurrection is. If your definition is armed men who are in aid who are intending to take over the United States government, it wasn’t that. I think there were people there who wanted to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the other.”