'Member of future Trump administration' says 'pardon is almost certain' for rioter: report

Numerous defendants facing charges stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, have sought delays in their cases due to a potential pardon from Donald Trump. For one defendant, one is essentially guaranteed, according to a report.

Trump has vowed to blanket pardon Jan. 6 rioters, but some in his orbit have suggested he will take a case-by-case approach once he takes office again.

A few defendants have secured delays after judges found it would be unreasonable to waste court resources if they would be pardoned shortly.

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Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, said on Sunday that one defendant's attorney reported speaking to a senior member of Trump's future administration about the issue.

Cheney posted a screenshot from a filing dated Nov. 17 in which the lawyer says Thomas Osborne, who was charged with interfering with police during the siege, will be pardoned, meaning to continue with a trial would be an "exercise in futility."

"The question remains if this Court is inclined to expend a significant amount of taxpayer money, this Court's time, valuable juror time, and court staff time, to allow the Government to get a conviction of Thomas Osborne which will ultimately, after January 20, 2025, be vacated or pardoned," the filing says. "It seems the just option to do is to wait three months and allow the People's President to follow through on his promises."

Cheney flagged the filing on his X account.

"A Jan. 6 defendant’s lawyer says he’s spoken with 'a high member of the future Trump Administration' and a pardon is almost certain," Cheney wrote in his reporting.