Trump's pursuit of 'blanket pardons' shows 'consciousness of guilt': ex-US attorney

Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade observed that Donald Trump had increased his criminal exposure because he pursued blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters while he was still president.

On Wednesday, McQuade spoke to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace about revelations about Trump's blanket pardon proposal from recently-released Jan. 6 Committee documents.

"This is evidence of what prosecutors refer to as consciousness of guilt," McQuade said. "The only reason you need a pardon is if you believe you did something wrong. And it can matter a lot in the kinds of charges that the committee has recommended to DOJ."

"Two of those [charges] do require that sort of cognizance," she added. "Conspiracy to defraud the United States requires knowledge of fraud. Obstruction of an official proceeding requires a corrupt intent. And so to demonstrate those intents, one of the things prosecutors can use in evidence is consciousness of guilt as evidenced by this desire to have blanket pardons."

Trump proposed blanket pardons for White House staff and Jan. 6 rioters, according to then-director of personnel Johnny McEntee's testimony to the committee.

Watch the video below from MSNBC.