What did Donald Trump do today?

He tried to pardon a Jan. 6 rioter for unrelated crimes without anyone noticing.

Jeremy Brown was awaiting trial on two federal charges for his actions during the January 6 riots when Trump issued a blanket pardon for all involved, breaking promises made by his transition team that he would not grant pardons to those who committed acts of violence. The specific language of the pardon makes clear that it "applies only to convictions for offenses related to events that occurred at or near the Capitol on January 6, 2021."

In the course of bringing Brown to trial, federal prosecutors uncovered evidence that he possessed illegal weapons—grenades stolen during his time in the Army, and a sawed-off shotgun. Brown also possessed a rifle that he was not allowed to possess because, like many January 6 defendants, he had previously been convicted of unrelated felonies. Investigators also found that Brown had also stolen a classified document from the Army. He was charged for these offenses separately. In a court filing today, Trump DOJ attorneys argued that Trump's pardon applied to these crimes as well. 

In other words, the Trump administration is now arguing that the crime of possessing hand grenades Brown had stolen from the Army long before January 6, and which he did not take to the Capitol, was "related to events that occurred at or near the Capitol on January 6."

Trump could pardon Brown for these crimes separately. He's made a point of pardoning people who committed crimes he's been accused of in the past, and he and Brown both stole classified documents.

However, given the sheer number of Capitol rioters who have been rearrested, committed new offenses, or remanded to state custody to serve sentences for every kind of offense from child sexual abuse and domestic violence to conspiracy to murder the FBI agents who arrested them, Trump may not want to call attention to this latest legal maneuver.

Why does this matter?

• People who commit serious crimes shouldn't go unpunished just so a president won't be embarrassed.