Former President Biden's unprecedented pardon exercise in his final days in office, combined with President Trump's first major pardon for violent criminals on January 6, brings new scrutiny to this unique power. The voices are getting louder.
The clemency actions of both presidents represented a significant departure from the status quo, further expanding the limits of their already vast pardon powers and raising alarm among critics and allies alike.
Just hours apart, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump announced pardons one after the other.
On Monday morning, Biden announced charges filed under the second Trump administration, including epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Gen. Mark Milley, and all nine members of the House select committees. The government pardoned a number of people who were concerned that they would be deported. Investigated the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
And in an order announced as Biden arrived at the Capitol for his inauguration, the outgoing president used his final hours in office to unexpectedly pardon his brother and other family members.
Some Democrats criticized Biden's move as going too far.
“While I sympathize with President Biden, I'm not sure the extent of the pardons he granted were necessary. And I don't think anyone will be happy with how Trump or Biden used their pardon power.”Senator Chris Murphy Sen. (D-Conn.) said, “This is the broadest and far-reaching executive power currently available,” adding, “President Trump's tenacity for targeting his own political targets gives the Biden family a truly unique opportunity.” There is a threat of adversary. ”
President Trump took over late Monday night, announcing a series of pardons and commutations for more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. This was a move beyond the position of Vice President J.D. Vance, who just days ago said that those who committed violence that day “obviously” should not be pardoned.
Trump also drew criticism within his own party for pardoning rioters who were shown on video assaulting police officers.
“Well, I think I agree with the vice president,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told semaphorsee previous comment from Vance.
“No one should tolerate violence, especially violence against police officers,” McConnell said.
President Trump's pardon has lifted the charges against all defendants indicted in connection with January 6, but there has been growing criticism that the president has failed to individually assess those involved.
The order also commuted the sentences of prominent members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are two far-right groups who plotted to block the election certification ahead of the attack, leading to rare sedition and conspiracy charges.
“That's not right. People who assault police officers should serve time if they committed a crime,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana).
Biden's pardon for his brother comes after a similar order was issued for his son Hunter Biden, who faces both tax and gun charges in lawsuits filed in two different states.
President Biden said his son was “chosen” because he is his, and there is “no reason to believe it will stop here.”
He conveyed similar sentiments regarding his own brother when he pardoned his brother and his spouse.
“My family has been subjected to relentless attacks and threats motivated solely by a desire to harm me. This is partisan politics of the worst kind,” Biden said in a statement. “Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Biden's fear of prosecution of his brother is not unfounded. Shortly before the former president leaves office, House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) sends a letter to attorney general nominee Pam Bondi to consider possible contempt of Congress charges against James Biden. I asked. Comer was leading the Republican investigation into the Biden family's business dealings.
But Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) appeared on CBS News and said former President Biden made a mistake by granting preemptive pardons to people who have not yet been involved in the criminal justice system. .
“I don't like these kinds of pardons. I don't like these preemptive pardons. You know, these are pardons for people who haven't committed a crime,” he said.
“Yes, this is another norm that applies here in Washington and will have implications down the road. But again, it's not just a coincidence that we got here. We want these people to We came here based on statements and threats made against us.”
Former members of the Jan. 6 committee sought to distinguish between their pardons and the pardons for the more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol.
“Look, the people who were pardoned this morning, we were pardoned because we were innocent,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said during an appearance on CNN, adding that President Trump also said that former Liz Cheney He added that he has threatened committee leaders such as Rep. -Wyoming) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) and others who have made “fraudulent political prosecutions.”
“The people who were pardoned a while ago were pardoned for crimes like assaulting police officers, bringing dangerous weapons into the Capitol, and destroying federal property; It was just a mass amnesty, without even checking to see if those people were rehabilitated and if they continued to pose a threat to public safety,” Raskin said.
But not everyone who received pardons from Biden approved of the former president's logic behind granting them.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was critical of Biden's pardon of the committee members, though he called President Trump's Jan. 6 pardon “a grotesque display of new power.” .
“I continue to believe that granting amnesty to a committee that has done such important work to uphold the law is unnecessary and, given precedent, unwise,” Schiff said in a statement Monday. Ta.
“But given the persistent and unfounded threats issued by Donald Trump and those who are now some of the nominees for law enforcement, why does President Biden think it necessary to take this step? I certainly understand.”
Schiff's comments build on previous comments about the risk of setting a new tone when he leaves office, saying, “I don't want to see outgoing presidents granting broad types of pardons.”
This was a rare moment of some kind of agreement between Schiff and Trump, as the president then railed against Biden's pardons, especially for family members.
“I could have forgiven my family. I could have forgiven myself and my family,” he said Monday night. “I said, 'If you do that, you're going to look very guilty' — and frankly, I don't think I'm sitting here.”
Trump added: “Maybe every outgoing president will pardon everyone he's ever met.”
Moskowitz said he fears what Trump and others will do when they leave office.
“Four years from now, which is obviously a long time from now, even if President Trump feels like he wants to pardon families on the way out, right now Democrats can't say anything about it. ” he said. .
Contributed by Ella Lee.
