Jonathan Turley
Joe Biden may set a dangerous new precedent with ‘pre-emptive’ pardons
There are growing indications that President Biden is about to fundamentally change the use of presidential pardons by granting “prospective” or “pre-emptive” pardons to political allies.
Despite repeated denials by President-elect Donald Trump that he is seeking retaliation against opponents and wants “success [to be] my revenge,” Democratic politicians and pundits have called for up to thousands of such pardons.
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https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/opinion/joe-biden-may-set-a-dangerous-new-precedent-with-preemptive-pardons/While there is little threat of any viable prosecution of figures like the members of the House’s Jan. 6 committee, the use of “white knight pardons” offers obvious political benefits.
After many liberals predicted the imminent collapse of democracy and that opponents would be rounded up by the Trump administration, they are now contemplating the nightmare that democracy might survive and that there will be no mass arrests.
The next best thing to a convenient collapse of democracy is a claim that Biden’s series of pre-emptive pardons averted it — to preserve the narrative.
Biden’s pardon list has replaced the usual Inauguration Ball lists as the “must-have” item this year. Pardon envy is sweeping over the Beltway, as politicians and pundits push to be included on the list of presumptive Trump enemies.
