Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she is “not a fan” of President Biden granting preemptive pardons to critics of President-elect Trump.
Klobuchar joined MSNBC's Jen Psaki to weigh in on rumors that Biden will pardon Trump's critics ahead of the transition.
She added that she also does not support Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden.
“I'm not a fan of these. I didn't like the pardon of the president's son. I didn't think it was wise,” she said, Highlighted by Mediaite. “But I'm also very concerned about what President Trump is going to do with the Department of Justice.”
The Democratic Party appears to be divided over the issue of pre-emptive pardons. The president has discussed using his pardon power to protect Trump critics who could be targeted in the next administration, such as incoming Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Trump said during the campaign that he intended to pursue his political opponents while he was in office.
Klobuchar said she spoke with Schiff, who has publicly said he does not want a preemptive pardon from Biden.
“He believes that this country is a nation of laws and that there have always been judges, including during the last Trump administration, who have ruled, and some of them have been Republicans appointed by various administrations to do the right thing under the law. “I believe I took it,” she said. Said.
Klobuchar acknowledged that Biden has the power to pre-emptively pardon people, but pointed to Trump's “abuse” of pardon power and wants some form of pardon reform.
“You can create committees, you can take recommendations from the board, you can do all kinds of things,” Klobuchar said. “That's what I'd like to see. That would be interesting.”
