Biden is considering preemptive pardons for allies before he leaves office
FILE-President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the White House on July 14, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
President Joe Biden is pondering whether to issue preemptive pardons for officials and allies who the White House worries might be targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
The commander-in-chief has discussed the matter with a few senior aides; however, a decision has not been made, and there’s a chance Biden may not do anything, the Associated Press reported, citing two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
Pardons are historically for people accused of specific crimes – and usually those who have already been convicted of an offense, the Associated Press reported.
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According to the AP, the pardons would be issued for individuals who have not been investigated or charged. But Biden’s team worries that Trump and his allies may begin probes that could be reputationally and financially costly for their targets even if it did not result in prosecutions.
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Some Biden aides worry that if Biden were to issue pardons it would add to claims by Trump and his allies that the people committed acts that required immunity.
The aides also are concerned that if the president does use them, it may lay the foundation for more severe use by Trump.
Who would Biden consider pardoning?
If Biden were to issue pardons, one recipient would be infectious-disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was a key contributor in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Others who might receive pardons include witnesses in Donald Trump’s criminal or civil trials and Biden administration officials who have angered the president-elect and his allies.
Discussions of potential pardons came after Biden pardoned his son Hunter, not only for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations, but for any possible federal offense committed over an 11-year time, the AP noted.
Biden feared that Trump allies would try to prosecute his son for other offenses. This could serve as a model for other pardons Biden may issue to individuals who may find themselves in legal jeopardy under Trump.
Have pardons been issued before?
Donald Trump’s aides considered issuing a pardon for him and his supporters involved in his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election led to a violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
However, Biden could be the first to issue them, since Trump’s pardons never materialized before he left office almost four years ago.
Gerald Ford granted a pardon in 1974 to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal.
According to the AP, Ford thought a possible trial would "cause prolonged and divisive debate over the propriety of exposing to further punishment and degradation a man who has already paid the unprecedented penalty of relinquishing the highest elective office of the United States," as written in the pardon proclamation.
The White House tells the AP that more conventional pardons from Biden, like those for sentencing discrepancies for individuals convicted of federal crimes, are expected before the end of 2024.