According to an interview that resurfaced in 2020, former President Joe Biden offered preemptive pardons to his family before President Donald Trump pardoned his own sons and brothers while issuing the largest presidential pardon and commutation in history. He said he was “concerned” about giving the in the history of the United States.
In a December 2020 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Biden warned against then-outgoing President Trump granting preemptive pardons to his adult children, lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and even to them. . probably for yourself before his Justice Department took over.
“I'm concerned about what kind of precedent this sets and how the rest of the world views us as a nation of law and justice,” Biden said. told Tapper In a joint interview with Mr. Harris.
But those fears were short-lived, with the former commander-in-chief on Monday granting a comprehensive and pre-emptive pardon to the brothers and their spouses, claiming their families had been “subjected to relentless attacks and intimidation.” announced an unprecedented decision. It's the worst kind of partisan politics, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me. ”
“Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe these attacks will end,” he said.
Biden last month repeatedly promised not to pardon his troubled son Hunter Biden, 54, after he was found guilty in September on federal firearms charges and federal tax evasion charges. It was condemned by both Republicans and Democrats.
Biden said Monday that in addition to his family, Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley and the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol feared retaliation from an angry second-term President Trump. Members of the group were also granted amnesty.
The move made him the first president to pardon people who were not charged with committing a crime or suspected by law enforcement. According to the Washington Post.
Some of those pardoned warned Biden against such a flexible change in presidential power.
Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who served on the Jan. 6 committee, said last month that he did not want a pardon, telling ABC News, “We are the ones who would preemptively issue a blanket pardon when the administration leaves office.'' It's a precedent we don't want.” I want to set it. ”
With just a few pen strokes in his final weeks in the White House, Biden set a record for the most presidential pardons and commutations of any U.S. president. Axios reports.
He is not the first president to pardon a family member. Former President Bill Clinton infamously pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton, who had pleaded guilty to drug charges.
President Trump pardoned fewer people during his first term than his successor, but he did pardon Charles Kushner. Charles Kushner, the father of daughter Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner, was convicted in 2005 of filing false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness, and misconduct. Campaign Donations. President Trump then appointed the wealthy real estate developer as ambassador to France in November.
Hours after his second inauguration on Monday, President Trump pardoned an estimated 1,500 people for the January 6, 2021, rioters and nearly 1,000 people convicted of trying to block the transfer of power from Trump to Biden. He fulfilled his promise to grant amnesty to all.
