Free Republic

Every new president selects personalized Oval Office decor to suit his tastes and pay homage to admired predecessors. President Biden’s Oval Office boasts both a portrait and a bust of Abraham Lincoln. But his family’s connection to the 16th president extends far beyond workplace ornamentation.

Abraham Lincoln didn’t just free the slaves and preserve the Union. America’s 16th (and arguably greatest-ever) president also pardoned the current chief executive’s paternal great-great-grandfather after he was sentenced to hard labor at a military prison, newly unearthed documents show. President Biden’s ancestor, Moses Robinette, was put in the dock after he came to blows with one John Alexander, a fellow civilian employee of the Union Army, on March 21, 1864, according to records found by the Washington Post. Alexander, a brigade wagon master, was left bloodied by wounds that came from Robinette’s pocket knife and the presidential forebear was...

<p>If Donald Trump is right that presidents have immunity, then why did Richard Nixon need a pardon?</p><p>Trump was in a Washington, D.C. federal courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 9 where his attorneys argued before an appeals court that the four-count indictment against him for 2020 election interference should be dismissed. Their position is that Trump, as president at the time, is immune from prosecution because he was carrying out official duties.</p>

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Thursday she would pardon former President Donald Trump if he is convicted of federal crimes. Her comments came during a campaign event in Plymouth, New Hampshire, MSNBC noted Friday. The outlet reported: “A leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country,” Haley went on. “What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country. What’s in the best interest of our country is to pardon him so that we can move on as a country...

CNN anchor Jim Acosta raised former President Ford’s pardon of his predecessor, former President Nixon, in questioning former President Trump’s assertion of having total immunity from prosecution for his conduct in office on Sunday. Acosta asked his guest, former White House ethics head Norm Eisen, about the reasoning for a pardon if presidents could not be criminally prosecuted for their actions in office.

President Joe Biden took major action ahead of the holiday and pardoned all Americans arrested, prosecuted, or convicted on federal charges for marijuana use, following through on his 2020 campaign promise to expunge cannabis use offenses. Biden signed a proclamation Friday that forgives U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents caught by law enforcement for possessing the drug and charged, going far beyond the sweeping actions he took last year for thousands of people convicted of possession. The new action includes "additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law," the White House said in a...

The Constitution grants the President the power to pardon individuals for federal crimes committed. The pardon power is fairly broad and hasn't seen many tests in the Supreme Court, but there are some limitations. For example, the President may not issue pardons in the event of impeachment. Frequently Asked Questions: Can a President pardon themselves? The full extent of the pardon power has not been tested in the courts. No President has tried to pardon themselves from crimes committed while in office. Therefore, it is not known if the courts would accept this use of the pardon power. However, President...

On Oct. 17, 1974, forty-nine years ago today, President Gerald Ford made an historic appearance before Congress to testify about his pardon of former President Richard Nixon, which he had issued on Sept. 8. Nixon had resigned on Aug. 9 to avoid certain impeachment and removal from office for his cover-up of the Watergate break-in and other misdeeds. As a member of the subcommittee hearing Ford’s testimony, I challenged the president about the pardon, the only one to do so, asking him about a “deal” and the suspicious way the pardon was issued. Now, nearly a half century later, I...

In an interview set to air Sunday, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she doesn’t believe former President Trump when he said it would be very unlikely that he would pardon himself. “I don’t believe him on anything,” Clinton told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “Why should I start believing him on that?” In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump said it’s not likely he will pardon himself if he is convicted of a crime and elected president again. “I could have pardoned myself. Do you know what? I was given an option to pardon myself. I could have pardoned myself...

Most of former President Trump’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination have given full-throated support for him in his current criminal travails, even saying they would pardon him if he is convicted of any – or all – of the 90-something charges. The notion that a president could be pardoned for criminal offenses would have been unthinkable at one time. But the precedent for doing so — which helps fuel the blessing given to a Trump pardon by his GOP opponents — occurred about a half century ago. On a September Sunday in 1974, President Gerald R. Ford issued a...

Few Presidents as unpopular as Joe Biden have ever sought re-election. In the modern history of polling, only Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump rival him with their disapproval ratings at this point in their respective presidencies. What’s more, “Bidenomics” is already making Trump look much better by comparison. This reality has many Democrats nervous, looking for some way to ditch their current standard bearer and replace him with (almost) anyone else. Biden’s loss of mental acuity has reached a point where it can no longer be denied or defended. Concerns about Biden’s age and sharpness are turning up in every...

President Joe Biden's son Hunter was indicted on Thursday on three charges related to false statements in the 2018 purchase of a firearm, prompting legal analyst Jonathan Turley to question the possibility of a presidential pardon. Hunter Biden was previously charged with illegal possession of a firearm "as a drug user" and failing to pay federal income tax in June, according to filings from a Delaware District Court. His legal team agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in which he would plead guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay federal tax but avoid prosecution on the felony firearms...

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday granted an “absolute pardon” to the father who was arrested at a school board meeting after the superintendent lied about his daughter’s rape by a skirt-wearing boy. The pardon says that in June 2021, Scott Smith “exercised his constitutional right to attend a public meeting of the Loudoun County School Board to observe the proceedings, during which time a community member threatened to spread false and malicious information about Mr. Smith’s business with the intent to damage his reputation.” “After an ensuing verbal confrontation, Scott Thomas Smith was charged with Obstruction of Justice and...

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday granted an “absolute pardon” to the father who was arrested at a school board meeting after the superintendent lied about his daughter’s rape by a skirt-wearing boy. The pardon says that in June 2021, Scott Smith “exercised his constitutional right to attend a public meeting of the Loudoun County School Board to observe the proceedings, during which time a community member threatened to spread false and malicious information about Mr. Smith’s business with the intent to damage his reputation.” “After an ensuing verbal confrontation, Scott Thomas Smith was charged with Obstruction of Justice and...

Vivek Ramaswamy left Republican voters scratching their heads after he said in an interview that he wants to evaluate giving pardons to members of the Biden family if he’s elected president.That stood in contrast to recent calls by Ramaswamy for a special counsel to criminally investigate the Biden family for its business dealings and alleged influence peddling.“After the I am leading the great revival. After we have shut down the FBI, after we have refurbished the Department of Justice, after we have systemically pardoned anyone who was a victim of a political motivated persecution — from Donald Trump and peaceful...

Here is Gov. Ron DeSantis on with Megyn Kelly where she asked if he would commit to pardoning President Trump if he is elected President. It is highly unlikely DeSantis will be in that position. He’s losing ground in the GOP Nomination race right now. He doesn’t exactly give a definitive answer here either........

Below is my column in The Messenger on what I called Biden’s “break-the-glass” option after the disaster in Delaware. After the column ran, Fox News asked White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre about the possibility of a pardon. Jean-Pierre cut him off and responded unequivocally “no.” I hope that proves to be true but it would have been more assuring to come from someone who did not clearly misrepresent the President’s earlier denial just a day earlier and change his long-standing position. The President previously denied a series of facts that have been proven, including the fact that his son did...

resident Joe Biden faced reporters for the first time since a federal judge picked apart a plea deal that would keep his son Hunter out of prison, turning away amid a barrage of inquiries. The resident appeared at the White House Thursday to discuss the heat emergency scorching parts of the nation, but got grilled himself amid the sudden legal turmoil for his son. Among questions he faced was one about whether he would pardon his son, who continues to face legal jeopardy after a federal prosecutor said in court the investigation of him is 'ongoing.' U.S. Attorney Leo Wise...

It has not been a good week for the Biden White House. The evidence of wrongdoing from their alleged bribery operation hasn’t been refuted or disproven. Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal got tossed by a judge who apparently saw it as a perversion of justice. Hunter was about to plead guilty to gun and tax evasion charges and get no jail time. It was a crock. Spencer wrote today that more unethical activities were uncovered through new emails, where Hunter wanted a $2 million retainer to recover frozen Libyan assets in 2015. The emails were sent among Democratic donors, who...

Mark July 26 on your calendar. It's the day Beltway journalists realized they can't dismiss President Joe Biden's son Hunter's legal problems as a GOP chew toy. Wednesday morning when he showed up at a federal court in Wilmington, Hunter Biden, 53, expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes for 2017 and 2018. (He later paid the taxes due.) Prosecutors would recommend a sentence of probation, according to The Washington Post. A side deal included a diversion agreement for a third charge, unlawful possession of a firearm, a felony that can result in...