Report: Preemptive Pardons of Fauci, Cheney, and Others Under Serious Consideration by Biden White House
Though it wasn’t entirely unexpected, Joe Biden’s 11th-hour decision to give his son, convicted felon Hunter Biden, a “full and unconditional” pardon has sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C., with some Democrats and press figures criticizing the move while others seem fine with President Rule of Law doing the exact opposite of what he pledged not to do in interfering in his son’s cases.
But anyone including Republicans who thought Biden invoking the Democrat Privilege card as it related to Hunter Biden was about as despicable as it could get is likely to be even more outraged after learning what the Biden White House’s next move on the pardons front may be:
Biden’s aides are deeply concerned about a range of current and former officials who could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments, a sense of alarm which has only accelerated since Trump last weekend announced the appointment of Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel has publicly vowed to pursue Trump’s critics.The White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary step of handing out blanket pardons to those who’ve committed no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety, only fueling Trump’s criticisms, and because those offered preemptive pardons may reject them.The deliberations touch on pardoning those currently in office, elected and appointed, as well as former officials who’ve angered Trump and his loyalists.
Among the names reportedly being discussed for preemptive pardons are Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who will be headed to the Senate next year.
The idea may be gaining steam thanks in part to public statements made by elected Democrats on the issue, with Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) being one of the more high-profile Democrats advocating for blanket pardons ahead of President-Elect Trump’s inauguration:
“If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,” Markey said on WGBH last week.
“I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful [way his] first year … towards individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey also said in his Boston Public Radio interview.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) is another on board with the idea:
Some media figures are advocating for Biden to do this as well:
Needless to say, conservatives were not amused and had some questions:
Now, if Biden wants to go total scorched earth and burn “norms” to the ground on the way out the door, he’ll proceed with the preemptive pardons that are allegedly on the table. On the other hand, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) was on the right track with this idea:
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) called on President Biden to pardon President-elect Donald Trump Monday — for the sake of balance — a day after the commander in chief issued one to his troubled son, Hunter Biden.“I am just saying, wipe them out,” Manchin, a former Democrat who is retiring from the upper chamber at the end of the year, told CNN.“Why don’t you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges and make it, you know, it would have gone down a lot more balanced, if you will,” the senator added.
It’s an idea that has some support from Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), to whom Biden is very beholden for multiple political favors including turning around his 2020 presidential campaign:
Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) signaled he would support President Biden if he were to offer clemency to President-elect Trump in his legal cases, days after Washington was rattled by the president’s pardoning of his son Hunter Biden.
“Remember that Trump has not been convicted of anything in the federal realm,” Clyburn told CNN’s “Laura Coates Live” on Tuesday, specifically highlighting the president-elect’s New York hush money case. “Those convictions are state convictions.”
“So, I’m not talking about state here, I’m talking about things that could impede our federal government,” he continued, referencing outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin’s (I-W.Va.) similar sentiment earlier this week, when he too called for the president to pardon Trump.“And so, I believe that Manchin may be on to something there,” the South Carolina Democrat added.
Oh my. Can you imagine? I don’t see it happening, but wouldn’t it be something for Biden, despite the bad blood between him and Trump, to go on a mini-revenge tour against the Democrats who turned against him in July by essentially wiping Trump’s slate clean?
In any event, Biden reportedly “has not been brought into the broader pardon discussions yet,”, so it will be very interesting to see how – and if – all of this ultimately shakes out.
As always, stay tuned.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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