Witness at Minnesota fraud-prevention hearing criticizes Trump pardons, cites George Santos and Jan. 6 defendants

An unidentified speaker at a Minnesota State Legislature fraud-prevention committee hearing criticized President Donald Trump’s use of pardons, citing the pardon of George Santos and pardons of Jan. 6 defendants and urging witnesses to oppose them, according to the hearing transcript.

"Donald Trump pardoned George Santos who defrauded voters and owed them $370,000 in restitution to victims," the speaker said in the hearing transcript, citing the Santos case as an example of what they described as a pardon that undercuts accountability. The speaker asked witnesses to "Raise your hand if you oppose this pardon."

The speaker also tied the concern to the Jan. 6 attacks, noting the five-year anniversary and saying that "on Donald Trump's first day in office, he pardoned 1,500 insurrectionists, including Brian Christopher Mach, who's from Minnesota." The transcript records the speaker alleging that the Minnesota individual "kicked, shoved, and threw a flagpole at police officers" and calling him an "election denier," while saying the defendant framed his actions as patriotism.

A brief exchange is recorded in the transcript: after the speaker thanked "mister Belo," another participant is quoted as saying, "Ma'am, I would have to look at the law and the facts of the case," indicating at least one witness or participant declined to take an immediate position without reviewing legal and factual material.

The transcript shows the speaker repeated their call for witnesses to oppose the Minnesota pardon and labeled those who disagreed as hypocrites, framing the matter as accountability for fraud and violent acts. The record provided does not show any formal motion, vote, or committee action taken on the pardons during the excerpted exchange.

No further procedural steps or votes are recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.