Washington DC - Vice President JD Vance played defense for President Donald Trump's decision to issue sweeping pardons for January 6 rioters who committed violence on law enforcement.

On Sunday, the CBS News show Face the Nation aired an interview with Vance, his first since he and Trump were sworn into office, during which he spoke about a range of issues.

At one point, Vance was put on the spot about an interview he did with Fox News prior to the inauguration, in which he argued that anyone who committed violence on January 6 should "obviously" not receive a pardon.

But despite that statement, Trump went on to pardon over 1,500 rioters, many of which committed violent acts, some even accused of using explosives.

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Vance argued back that there are "gray areas" as he claimed, without evidence, that the Justice Department "denied constitutional protections in the prosecutions" and applied "double standards in how sentences were applied" to rioters compared to "other groups" such as Black Lives Matter protesters from years before.

After being presented with examples of violent offenders who have been freed, Vance argued, "There's what the people actually did on January the 6th, and we're not saying that everybody did everything perfectly."

Vance continued to insist the rioters were unfairly prosecuted and said Trump "made the right decision," further adding, "We rectified a wrong, and I stand by it."