Some of those who were freed from jail earlier this week had assaulted police officers during the insurrection.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:55
January 6 rioters reunite with families
Republican senator Mr Graham said while Mr Trump had the legal authority to issue the pardons, “pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake. Because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do”.
As a result, “I fear that you will get more violence”, said Mr Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mr Trump has said that attacks on police officers during the January 6 unrest were “minor incidents”.
In his first sit-down interview since being inaugurated on Monday, recorded in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity most of those who were jailed over the US Capitol riots were “absolutely innocent”.
He went on to claim those at the US Capitol were simply there “protesting the vote” before again falsely claiming the 2020 election was “rigged”.
Image: Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a Donald Trump campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2020. Pic: Reuters
Among those supporters who have been released from prison was Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group.
Rhodes had been serving an 18-year sentence after being convicted of plotting to use force to prevent Congress from certifying Mr Trump’s 2020 defeat to rival Joe Biden.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:05
Trump addresses Capitol riot pardons
The blanket pardon also drew condemnation from police who battled the mob, their families, and politicians, including some of the president’s fellow Republicans.
Graham also hits out at Biden pardons
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press programme, Mr Graham also criticised Mr Trump’s predecessor Democrat Mr Biden for issuing last-minute pardons for five family members and said Americans may want to revisit presidential pardon power if such actions continue.
“But as to pardoning violent people who beat up cops, I think that’s a mistake,” he said.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Later in the TV show, Democratic senator Adam Schiff agreed with Mr Graham, saying Mr Biden “was wrong to give these pardons”.
He added: “What it says now to the Trump family and to President Trump’s kids: they can engage in any kind of malfeasance, criminality, graft, whatever, and they can expect a pardon on the way out the door. That is not a message you want to send to this family, or really any family occupying the White House.”
Trump criticised by brother of dead officer
Craig Sicknick, whose brother was assaulted during the riot and died of multiple strokes the next day, has called Mr Trump “pure evil”.
“The man who killed my brother is now president,” he said.
Nearly 60% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was carried out after Mr Trump took office on Monday, said he should not pardon all of the Capitol defendants.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
Image: People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Image: Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Image: Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Image: Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
Image: A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Image: Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Image: Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Spotify
This content is provided by Spotify, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spotify cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spotify cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spotify cookies for this session only.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Image: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
Donald Trump has said, again, that he is “not happy” with Vladimir Putin.
In an extraordinary cabinet meeting, the US president criticised his Russian counterpart, and announced he had approved sending defensive weapons to Ukraine.
After weeks of rejecting Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for defence support – why the sudden change of tact? Is Trump’s relationship with Putin fraying?
And what’s the latest as Trump hosts Benjamin Netanyahu again, a day after the Israeli prime minister announced he had nominated the US leader for the Nobel Peace Prize.
What next in hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza? Tariffs are also back. Trump announces more… and more.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.