Posted on 01/20/2025 12:35:02 PM PST by Libloather
Last month, Joe Biden issued a broad pardon for his son Hunter that not only spared him sentencing on gun and tax charges but also barred his prosecution for any federal crimes he might have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. On his way out the door today, Biden granted similarly sweeping pardons to Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and all nine members of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, plus the committee's staff and Capitol police officers who testified before it. He also issued preemptive pardons for five of his relatives: three siblings, a brother-in-law, and a sister-in-law.
According to Biden, all of these pardons are aimed at preventing President Donald Trump, who took his second oath of office today in the same building that his supporters invaded and vandalized four years ago, from retaliating against his political enemies by launching frivolous criminal investigations. But in seeking to stop Trump from abusing presidential powers, Biden stretched the limits of those powers and set a dangerous precedent that undermines the rule of law and the accountability of federal officials.
Under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, the president has plenary power to "grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." Although pardons typically are granted after convictions, that language, on its face, does not preclude clemency in cases where no charges have been filed, provided the underlying conduct predates the pardon.
The closest historical precedent for Biden's preemptive acts of clemency is the pardon that President Gerald Ford granted to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, a month after taking office.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Thanks for posting. AI reminded me of the two instances that a preemptive pardon was used. First, Gerald Ford of Richard Nixon Second, Jiommy Carter of VietNam draft dodgers.
I still question if a preemptive pardon is within the power of POTUS under Article II, Section 2.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Gwjack
Biden didn’t pardon himself or Jill so time to go after them both.
The Biden crime family totally trashed the “rule of law” in a thousand different ways.
Yeah. It gives Trump the excuse for not bringing Fauchi to justice for vast harm - nationally and internationally that his evasion of the prohibition of gain-of-function research wreaked.
Publish all the evidence. All of it.
No rules of discovery apply.
Just publish the truth about these Marxist theiving criminals.
Granting presidential pardons for unspecified crimes, for which there have been no investigations yet alone indictments, needs to be challenged.
We can’t have a government where a potentate instigates crimes and cover ups by his political henchmen knowing he can absolve them of any accountability. How can any system survive that kind of self-serving manipulation?
Absolutely. We hear lots of lip-service given to the idea of “transparency”. Time for them to put up or shut up.
It sure seems like any reasonable reading of the text would require more words if future accusations were to be included.
In other words, Democrat/Communist Standard Operating Procedure.
p
Seems that Biden invalidated most all Trumps executive orders when he took office e, can’t Trump invalidate bidens, including pardons, just as easily?
Exactly. The pardoner is granting the pardon to his agent doing his bidding.
Nixon didn’t work for Ford.
No. Pardons are not executive orders. Executive orders are not even mentioned in the Constitution. Pardons are. Once given and accepted, they cannot be revoked. I do not know if they can be revoked before being accepted, but I expect not. And subsequent presidents can do nothing about a pardon granted by a previous president.
This has already been decided by the Supreme Court. See https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4291381/posts.
Goes back to the civil war
The more I think about this, I wonder why Biden did not attempt to pardon himself. He is in severe danger despite his lack of mental acuity. The pre-trial wrangling could cost Biden much money.
Think about it - his family will all be forced to testify against him because of their pardons.
Gwjack
Something to keep in mind. Those who are pardoned are now free to write a book without fear of prosecution. They can monetize the pardon.
Thought Experiment: Let’s say Trump pardons everyone who ever signed up to attend a rally. That must be hundreds of thousands of people that he can name, and issue a blanket pre-emptive pardon to.
Where would the country be then? It would be the end of the rule of law.
So we’re just talking a matter of degree. If hundreds of thousands is too much, how many is OK? 1000? 50? Five members of the Biden Family?
You can’t give one president unlimited pardon authority without another president being able to do the same.
This is more Biden lunacy that must be challenged in court, stopped, and invalidated.
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