US President-elect Donald Trump has said in a new interview that he intends to act on the first day to pardon people involved in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, including those who have pleaded guilty.

– I will act very quickly. Day one - Trump told Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press" in his first major interview since winning a second term.

Asked about those who admitted to assaulting police officers, Trump said they "had no choice" and suggested that hundreds of others who pleaded guilty to other crimes were victims of a "very corrupt system," The Hill reported.

– I know the system. The system is very corrupt. They tell the guy, "You're going to jail for two years or 30 years." Their whole life is ruined. Their lives have been destroyed for two years. The system is very nasty - said Donald Trump.

More than 1.500 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the confirmation of President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

More than 1.200 people have been convicted or pleaded guilty in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol break-in, and more than 200 are currently in custody.

Trump, who was charged in two separate federal cases that were dismissed after winning the election in November, has sparked fears among critics that he will use the Justice Department to attack his critics and political rivals.