The president of the United States, Joe Biden, says goodbye to the White House with the controversial granting of preventive pardons to those who he considers could be victims of unfair persecution by his successor, Donald Trump. Just a few hours after leaving office, the Democrat has exonerated some of those accused by Trump of criminal responsibility for their actions, including former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, retired general Mark Milley and the former person in charge of combating the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He has also, in a later decision, pardoned members of his family. With his measure, he frees those pardoned from possible persecution, but he pays a double price for it. On the one hand, it sets a precedent that Trump will take good note of. On the other hand, it dialectically feeds those who pointed out those pardoned as responsible for illegal conduct.
“The granting of these pardons should not be misinterpreted as an acknowledgment that any person has committed any wrongdoing, nor should their acceptance be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt for any crime,” Biden said in the statement released by the White House in the announcing his decision.
The presidential pardon extends to Milley, who called the former president a “fascist.” Fauci, for his part, helped coordinate the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but raised the ire of Trump and Republicans for imposing masks and other policies they considered infringed on their rights. Biden also pardons all the congressmen on the House of Representatives investigation commission, who held Trump responsible for the assault on the Capitol, and the police officers who testified before said commission. Among the parliamentarians, Republican Liz Cheney stood out especially, who also campaigned for Kamala Harris in the November presidential elections.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail,” Biden said. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial protection of those investigated and their families. Even when people have done nothing wrong – and, in fact, have done the right thing – and will eventually be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputation and finances,” he added.
Other pardons had already been granted on a preventive basis, that is, against people who were not accused. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon so that he would not be indicted in connection with the Watergate scandal, but once he had resigned. Jimmy Carter, for his part, forgave those who had illegally avoided participating in the Vietnam War, whether they had been brought to justice or not.
Those were isolated cases. Typically, people who have been convicted or who, at least, are being investigated, are pardoned. There are also pardons to repair historical injustices, although without practical effects. The Constitution places no limits on the president’s power of clemency, but Biden takes it to the extreme with these preventive pardons, even if they respond to exceptional circumstances. The decision sets the stage for even broader use of the pardon by Trump and future occupants of the White House, creating a kind of potential impunity for those who are loyal to the president, even above the law.
Trump spoke of “enemies within” during the campaign and spread messages on social media calling for the imprisonment of political rivals, including Biden himself; the vice president, Kamala Harris, and other figures, including those now pardoned.
The president-elect, who takes office at noon, has promised to pardon this Monday many of those involved in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in which some 140 law enforcement officers were injured. “Tomorrow, everyone in this great stadium will be very happy with my decision regarding the hostages on January 6,” he said Sunday at a rally in Washington.
Biden has broken the presidential record for individual pardons and commutations. He announced that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes and also those of 37 of the 40 people sentenced to death on federal death row, converting their sentences to life in prison. His most controversial pardon, however, was probably the one granted to his own son, Hunter Biden, also of a preventive nature, before he was sentenced for the crimes of which he had already been convicted.
This Monday, just 22 minutes after ceasing to be president, Biden pardoned other members of his family. “I exercise the power vested in me by the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens and Francis W. Biden. The granting of these pardons should not be confused with the recognition that they have committed a crime, nor should their acceptance be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt for any crime,” he said in his last statement as president. “My family has been subjected to incessant attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to harm me – the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that these attacks will end,” the president added.
