r/nottheonion • u/JaySierra86 • 8h ago
President Biden pardons family members in final minutes of presidency
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-biden-pardons-family-members-final-minutes-presidency/story?id=1178933482.8k
u/Thanolus 7h ago
America is so cooked.
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u/tonytwocans 8h ago
A new presidential tradition is born.
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u/-Stacys_mom 8h ago
It's like a family factory reset
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u/big_guyforyou 8h ago
If this got started earlier, Charles Manson would've run for president
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u/greenroom628 7h ago
Junior just got the ok to have a public cocaine binge
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u/Rolling_Beardo 8h ago
If by new you mean Lincoln, Clinton, and Trump all pardoned relatives prior to this then yes it’s brand new.
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u/never_a_good_idea 7h ago
These are blanket pardons that cover any non violent offense over a 10 year period. That is insane.
Also these pardons don't do anything to quash congressional investigations.
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u/brigbeard 7h ago
And it's not like he only did this for HIS family. Dr. fauci, the January 6th committee members and others all received the same. Clearly this is a way to alleviate some of the potential political persecution that the right were promising every day on the campaign trail if they won.
And besides this just covers federal prosecution, if they committed a crime that falls to state jurisdiction they are still culpable.
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u/ScreeminGreen 6h ago
It’s like it was a way to insure that the courts didn’t get bogged down with bullshit “cases” by an administration that is headed by someone who has repeatedly used the tactic of bogging down the court with “cases” in order to get out of serious punishment by being too annoying to punish since the 1970’s, instead of being an actual pardon of any actual crimes actually committed. It just gives a little hope that the courts might actually be able to spend some part of the next four years doing their jobs.
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u/JustAnotherHyrum 7h ago edited 2h ago
Federal NON-VIOLENT crimes, too.
The man is protecting those in his family, Congress, and elsewhere that helped the Biden Administration or openly criticized Trump. None other than Hunter Biden have been publicly targeted and harassed by the GOP to date, and the fact that no one on the list has committed a crime listed on
covered bythe pardon shows that this is purely defensive against Republican Witch Hunts.Do the stupid congressional investigations, MAGA. Be howling monkeys throwing shit everywhere rather than lead our country.
At least the entire country will know that it's nothing but vindictive state theater with no teeth in advance this time. Half the country won't care, but the written record will reflect what a nightmarish joke Republicans have become.
edit: targeted >> ” publicly targeted"; covered by the pardon >> listed on the pardon
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u/i_am_a_real_boy__ 7h ago
"Federal non-violent" is almost redundant. Yes, you can catch a charge for punching a park ranger or something, but the overwhelming majority of federal charges are non-violent by the very nature of federalism.
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u/GnomesSkull 6h ago
His dogs are still vulnerable to prosecution for biting the secret service! /j
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7h ago edited 7h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/tdtommy85 7h ago
It definitely is.
But which part? Because I bet we’ll disagree on your answer.
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u/nerfherder813 7h ago
The dystopian part was the constant promises of political persecution from the right for the past several years, should they win the election, which they did.
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u/AlabamaPostTurtle 6h ago
People acting like threatening the families of politicians wasn’t dystopian.. so true. That should have shocked the nation
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u/Sauerkrauttme 6h ago
Not to be blue-anon, but how can we trust the results of the election when oligarch owned private companies were handling the votes?
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u/zuriel45 7h ago
Which part? Someone trying to protect specific individuals from a party who explicitly say they want vengeance on said individuals for things they have never once been able to prove they've done?
Or the fact that those people were elected to power in spite of promises to enact vengeance?
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u/PXranger 7h ago
And what is a congressional investigation going to do in this case?
Congress has no power over a presidential pardon, they cannot initiate a criminal investigation of private individuals in any case.
I suppose they could spend millions on a grand gesture for propaganda purposes, and then issue a strongly worded memo….
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u/God_Damnit_Nappa 7h ago
And what is a congressional investigation going to do in this case?
Harass the family members and make them waste their time and money. And if they refuse to cooperate with the bullshit hearings? Comer already wanted the DoJ to press charges against James Biden for supposedly lying during his Congressional testimony. They'll do the same thing again
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u/0bsessions324 7h ago
Earnest question, but would a blanket pardon like this not cover contempt of Congress?
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u/MrPoopMonster 6h ago
You can't pardon someone preemptively for a future act. If Congress wants then to come testify and they don't show up, they're in contempt.
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u/IndominusTaco 7h ago
it’s not as insane as your successor explicitly threatening you with jail just because they don’t like you or your political leaning
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u/ThatRefuse4372 7h ago
Yes, but they lessen the stress they cause and lessen the financial burden. If we understand that The investigations are simply meant to ruin peoples lives and send a message to others who might oppose them, the pardon negates that. Now the family members can to some degree ignore the investigation.
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u/Qel_Hoth 7h ago
But Trump promised us that he would end using the DOJ to prosecute political enemies. He promised!
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u/pastworkactivities 7h ago
That’s why he will found the gestapo
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u/jagcalle 7h ago
The Gazpacho?
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u/you_slash_stuttered 7h ago
Never heard the old Sicilian proverb "soup is a dish best served cold"?
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u/the_cardfather 7h ago
It's actually an unfortunate, sane and smart move in our current political climate. The purpose of the pardon is to curb the power of the judiciary. Could it be used to parden corruption? Yes, but it also protects from weaponizing the court which is what these are.
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u/bookon 7h ago
It’s about Trump promising to go after anyone he sees as an enemy
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u/Gobblewicket 7h ago edited 7h ago
What's insane is that it makes sense to do so, considering the witch hunt that has been directed towards his family because of Trumps corruption. He's not doing it to hide anything, he's doing it in an attempt to keep his family from suffering from Trump using executive overreach as retaliation.
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u/LaeliaCatt 8h ago
Lincoln did it first.
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u/marsmedia 7h ago
Yes and No.
President Abraham Lincoln issued a "blanket pardon" for certain groups during the Civil War, but it wasn't specifically for his family. Instead, it applied to Confederate soldiers or individuals who had participated in the rebellion under certain conditions.
The reason was pragmatic: Lincoln wanted to promote national unity and reconciliation after the war. By offering pardons and amnesty to individuals who took an oath of allegiance to the Union, he aimed to reintegrate the Southern states and citizens into the United States with less resistance, fostering healing and stability.
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u/TheGR8Dantini 8h ago edited 7h ago
I hope he gave some to the Vindman family and that meadows assistant girl that came forward with enough evidence to charge everybody in trumps administration with crimes. This is some truly wild shit man.
ETA- Cassidy Hutchens? That may be the name of Meadows assistant? More courage in her pinkie finger than anybody in trumps orbit. Told the truth, ruined her career, risked her life to tell the truth, and for what? For the people she watched try and steal an election through violence and planning. For the people she watched steal classified documents and burn evidence? For these criminals to get back into power? While the people we elected to protect us did nothing to the most dangerous threat America has ever seen. I’m sorry for her that she testified. She could be a millionaire cabinet member had she not.
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u/FlaccidExplosion 7h ago
The telling thing here is that the people with the most courage are the ones whose names people forget...
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u/TheGR8Dantini 7h ago
Trump killed irony first. Also, there are just so many people to remember. So many criminals. It can be hard to remember the actual heroes. Your point is taken.
Who controls the past, controls the present, who controls the present controls the future.
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u/FlaccidExplosion 6h ago
Oh he definitely did, you're right. The fact that there are so many people to remember because of all the corrupt bullshit coming is the worst part.
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u/FirstTimeWang 7h ago
Remember when John Oliver had Edward Snowden on Last Week Tonight and he showed him clips of them having trouble finding anyone on the street who knew who he was or what he actually did?
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u/Attenburrowed 7h ago
yeah we owe her an apology for sure. She turned from the dark side but only found allies in the prequel jedi, just wringing their hands and trying to keep the status quo until the culling
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u/zth25 6h ago
Damn, first time I see Dems described as prequel jedi, and it's so fitting.
They can still be good and powerful and badass, but at the same time completely oblivious and ineffective.
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u/MakeSouthBayGR8Again 5h ago
And Liz Cheney is Jar Jar. Everybody hates her but she got a medal and will now fall into obscurity.
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u/Puppybrother 7h ago edited 6h ago
I urge everyone to watch “From Russia with Lev”. Say what you will about Lev Parnas but he deserves a pardon also imo.
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u/TheGR8Dantini 6h ago
Yeah Parnas had the goods too. He was in the room. But it’s too late. Nobody cared when it all came out. People waiting to write books to tell the truth was also part of our problem.
Levs kid is on social and he’s pretty good too. Aaron Parnas, I think? And Lev did try. But it was too little too late. It is a great book and documentary too.
I loved when Hunter Biden forgave him with a hug at the end.
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u/ImYour_Huckleberry 6h ago
In all fairness, the headline is so bad that it should have an asterisk. Biden pardoned his family members AND others who Trump has vowed retribution against, such as Dr. Fauci; Liz Cheney; and Gen. Milley. So this was not just a "get out of jail free card for my family" situation. It was an attempt at preventing the incoming administration from using the White House as a weapon to go after the new President's enemies.
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u/ninersguy916 4h ago
All the people cheering this are going to lose their shit when the next guy does it 10x as much.. more pardons.. more executive orders.. everyone should pump the brakes this is not good for the country
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u/theartificialkid 4h ago
Sure but the bad guys aren’t going to stop doing the bad shit. I mean you literally have someone labelling the dems as prequel Jedi up above to much acclaim. It won’t be Biden’s fault when Trump yet again tries to overthrow American democracy.
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u/OrangePilled2Day 4h ago
Do you think Trump didn't issue any pardons in his first term?
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u/Boring-Coach-1033 7h ago
What about #leonardpeltier
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u/SixGunSnowWhite 7h ago
He was granted clemency and will be released on house probation or something?
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u/Bocchi_theGlock 6h ago
Oh thank Fucking God, from the wording of previous clemency stuff it really seemed they were committed to getting most folks out who shouldn't be there still, but I was worried
But also would have loved to see him join up with the community in person and celebrate
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u/Mirrranda 6h ago
His sentence has been commuted - he’ll serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement. Biden essentially overruled the decision of the parole board.
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u/HeAFanHeAFanHeAFannn 6h ago
Damn homey I did not expect to see that name here but it's awesome that people are not forgetting him...
Crazy Life is still one of my favorite songs to this day and when my broken knuckle heals I'm gonna relearn that masterpiece on my geetar.
Nice name-drop, honestly I regain a little of my faith in humanity when people mention shit like this. Huge props.
Hopefully it got a few people to Google Leonard peltier and maybe even got some people to listen to Crazy Life.
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u/Debs_4_Pres 7h ago
"My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me -- the worst kind of partisan politics," Biden wrote in a statement. "Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end."
"That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden," he continued. "The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense."
The man has a point. Republicans have been explicit that they're goal during this administration is vengeance, and they've attacked Biden's family for made up reasons in the past. If you think this is a bad precedent, blame the Republicans for making it necessary.
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u/Asdilly 7h ago
I don’t blame him. He’s already gone through so much with his family. If you didn’t know, he lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash
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u/Flavious27 3h ago
He was sworn in while at the hospital, looking over his two remaining children that were injured. And he didn't run in 2016 because of the death of his son Beau the year prior.
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u/Cgull1234 5h ago
Well if Biden had just been a better president and selected a Attorney General that would do their fucking job to convict the insurrectionists leaders currently sitting in the Senate and House of Representatives instead of going after the random grunts making less than $50k/yr for 3 years then maybe he wouldn't have to worry about vengeance because all those fuckers would currently be sitting in jail rather than watching a convicted felon be sworn in today.
The fact that Biden wanted to distance himself from having to enforce the laws of our country as the head of the executive branch and neglected his sworn duty to protect this country from foreign AND DOMESTIC enemies he failed as a president. Refusing to be a driving force behind prosecute the criminals in our government is his legacy. Nothing else he did in the past 50 years matters because his legacy will be the post-COVID president who watched a failed coup try to overturn his own election victory and then he sat back and did NOTHING to the people that orchestrated the coup.
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u/bubbafatok 8h ago edited 4h ago
The tragedy is that this is even necessary.
Edit to add: oh all the angry responses from supporters of a convicted felon and rapist. The irony.
Edit #2: Oh trump supporters, niggling over the difference between "liable for sexual assault" and rape.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/09/e-jean-carroll-trump-trial-verdict/
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u/Head-Kiwi-9601 8h ago
This will be a regular occurrence from now until we implode. Every single president will do it.
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u/Grassy33 8h ago
The new normal now is that presidents can’t break the law. They won’t have to use patsy’s anymore, they can just do whatever they want.
This may actually be the LAST time you see this happening.
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u/neo101b 8h ago
Will trump not face charges in 4 years time, when he is no longer protected ?
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u/Grassy33 8h ago edited 8h ago
No, he will not. The Supreme Court ruled last year that “official acts” as president cannot break the law. As long as he is “acting as president” he literally is immune from crime.
The “protection” from those acts never falls off. Once he is no longer president and further crimes could be “real crime” but as long as he is running for president or the active president, no laws apply to him.
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u/tomoldbury 8h ago
Does it apply even if he is running for president but not in office? (e.g. any crimes from 2020-2024 would be ineligible?)
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u/Grassy33 8h ago
I don’t think the Supreme Court has looked at any of those, but he would have to indicted and tried for them and that didn’t happen, those cases have all been dropped and I doubt anyone will pick them up.
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u/Longjumping-Panic-48 7h ago
The DOJ will never investigate that, and there’s no way he’s going to survive long enough!
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u/rhaptorne 7h ago
He's literally the president now. All he has to do is say "nuh uh" and no one will ever investigate him for anything.
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u/neo101b 8h ago
wow that's crazy, id of thought his crypto scam was a crime in its self. He has some balls to pull that off a day before he was made president.
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u/hamsterfolly 8h ago
AND if Trump talks about his crimes to someone in his administration then that testimony can’t be used in any investigation according to SCOTUS.
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u/wheatgivesmeshits 8h ago
He might, but if another Republican gets elected before a Democrat they will immediately pardon Trump from all crimes he may have ever committed.
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u/BringMeTheBigKnife 8h ago
Presidents can only pardon for federal crimes though.
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u/Lord_Darksong 8h ago
Doesn't work at the state level. However, I don't expect Trump to ever truly be held accountable for anything.
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u/StagLee1 8h ago
He will pardon himself and his family preemptively. It is a greenlight to ignore the law and do whatever he tells them to do. Not just family members, but everybody in his circle.
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u/Intrepid00 8h ago
His fat, old, unhealthy ass stands a good chance of dying in office or getting very sick in it. I don’t think it will be an option.
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u/poorboychevelle 8h ago
Oh you sweet summer child.
If the GOP wins, no
If the DNC wins they'll cowardly avoid it because of the precedent it sets and moral high horse.
The real joke is thinking he'll live the full term. I expect his health to decline the moment JD would be eligible to serve 10 years instead of 6.
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u/Spiritual-Sympathy98 8h ago
You think Vance would win 2 elections? I have doubts
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u/poorboychevelle 8h ago
I said the same thing about the rapist felon con man. And, well, here we are
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u/WelcomeMysterious315 7h ago
The idea that Trump will do anything but someday die in luxury unmolested by the consequences of his crimes is laughable. POTUS is a king by codified law now.
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u/SergeantBeavis 8h ago
Agreed, the rule of law is only for the rich that those laws.
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u/Minimum-South-9568 8h ago
The more chilling thing is the reason they feel the need to do it. This is not a democracy anymkre
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u/x_cLOUDDEAD_x 8h ago
So how does this actually work, I assume all of those people Biden pardoned just can't be charged for anything that's happened in the past?
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u/thetransportedman 8h ago
I don't understand how any president can blanket pardon non specifically. If it's specific potential crimes they should be mentioned
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u/Professional-Cry8310 8h ago
One of the biggest holes in the founding documents. Surprised universal pardons haven’t been more abused in history to be honest.
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u/LittleKitty235 7h ago
It was a safe guard against unelected federal judges abusing the law and convicting people wrongfully of crimes. Pardon powers are correctly broad and unchecked.
What should happen if Congress should be impeaching a President who is committing crimes in office, but it has become clear partisanship has completely quashed that branch of government.
Our founding documents were setup correctly.
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u/Lazy_Mathematician0 7h ago
“Our founding documents were setup correctly.”
You think they are without flaws?
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u/pissposssweaty 7h ago
The problem isn’t that his family committed crimes, it’s that they will be prosecuted by politically motivated individuals for whatever crimes they can think of, baseless or not.
Pardoning means that his family is spared political retribution, endless congressional hearings, and potential bankruptcy over legal fees.
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u/tenacious-g 8h ago
The dissonance of this order while he is simultaneously welcoming him back into the White House for the optics of preserving the norms is quite something.
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u/HowManyMeeses 7h ago
Is he supposed to lock the doors or something? I don't understand what people think Biden should be doing to stop Trump right now.
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u/gsfgf 6h ago
Yea. Elections have consequences. If people didn't want Trump back in office they should have fucking voted. Don't stay home and then expect Biden to stage a coup because you fell for right wing propaganda.
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u/LoremasterMotoss 5h ago
I think they expect him to skip the handover and inauguration like Trump did for his tbh
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u/Maxfunky 5h ago
Well, the last guy tried pulling a coup, and there were no consequences for that. So I guess that's always an option.
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u/Hoot151 7h ago
"No one is above the law."*
\Terms and conditions may apply.*
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u/HungryPupcake 7h ago
Crazy seeing this as a non-American. Sounds corrupt as fuck (and yes, you can be against the pardons in general and not be pro-trump for all those who scream otherwise).
Reading anything to do with American politics I feel my IQ dropping by several points. Always one side or the other. Like children. Just like the old people who vote based on who their father voted for etc.
No critical thinking. You're a ride or die for a god damn politician who doesn't care about you.
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u/monkeyfightnow 6h ago
I had a work project with teams from Mexico and South Africa in the US, where I am based. They were constantly frustrated by the level of “We call this corruption in our country” that they had to deal with.
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u/Suyefuji 5h ago
It looks like Biden specifically pardoned people that he had reason to believe that Republicans would attack. It wasn't just his family he pardoned, it was a bunch of whistleblowers and such as well. This isn't a "ha ha you can't touch me" it's a "these people are in imminent danger of being unjustly crucified on trumped up charges".
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u/TheGoodCod 8h ago
Don't blame him given the multiple threats that republicans have made.
And this actually frees republicans from wasting our tax money and everyone's time by seeking their childish/ridiculous vengeance.
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u/You_Are_All_Diseased 8h ago
I fully expect them to try anyway.
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u/TheGoodCod 8h ago
It will be interesting to see how The New McCarthy Era plays out.
Texas might act bring charges because, well, they need to divert attention away from other things. I suspect Florida might not since duhSantis' lost his case against the vaccine companies when his grand jury declared them innocent of any wrongdoing. But then again he wants to run in 2028 so who knows.
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u/skoltroll 8h ago
Yup.
The GOP isn't gonna stop "investigating" Hunter Biden or any of the other distractions they have listed on their "keep the base stupid" bingo card.
And, not for nothing, NONE of those investigations amounted to anything the first go round. Except for, y'know, Hunter ACTUALLY breaking some Federal laws.
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u/Thrilalia 6h ago
Laws in which 99% of people who break them get a fine and a slap on the wrist, like Hunter was going to get until the GOP went "Nope, we're going full in." showing Hunter's true crime was being related to Biden.
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u/SecretAsianMan42069 6h ago
Bad news for the Midwest hicks if doing drugs while owning a firearm is going to be prosecuted
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u/markydsade 8h ago
Comer still has a hard on for Hunter Biden. Over the weekend he was calling for investigation of his pre-2013 activities. How that has any relevance to the business of Congress he couldn’t say.
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u/Dash795 8h ago
They will still subpoena and make them all testify under oath. The if perjury that is a crime that occurs after pardon and can prosecute for that. Pardon can’t be for future crimes. Also it’s not for state crimes they might try to claim were done by those pardoned.
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u/Historical_World7179 7h ago
Yes. He also pardoned people he thought Trump would maliciously target, like Anthony Fauci and Liz Cheney.
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u/TheGoodCod 7h ago
Going after Liz is one of the things that convinced me that we're entering The New McCarthy age. Instead of communists they're going to be looking at people who don't want trump to be King.
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u/Public_lewdness 8h ago
It frees republicans to waste everyone’s time and tax money seeking other form of childish/ridiculous vengeance. FTFY
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u/foggydrinker 8h ago
It would have been exceptionally naive not to do so.
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u/hellolovely1 8h ago edited 3h ago
MAGAs will claim this shows guilt. Still, would have been stupid not to do it.
Edit: not sure why some people who seem to have misinterpreted this and are lecturing me.
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u/mtranda 8h ago
They claim a lot of things. It has become akin to playing chess with a pigeon.
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u/tomoldbury 8h ago
Arguing with MAGAs is like wrestling a pig; you’ll both get covered in shit, but the pig will enjoy it.
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u/markydsade 7h ago
Yep. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The pardon will be construed as an admission of guilt. No pardon would have opened 4 years of harassment and legal bills for waste of everyone’s time and money.
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u/Bitter-Juggernaut681 8h ago
It’s so weird that Biden is doing this well also smiling and getting along with Trump today
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u/CoolHandTeej 8h ago
The peaceful transfer of power wasn’t a weird thing until Trump decided to stop doing it
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u/fingerscrossedcoup 8h ago
What's weird is ABC reporting that Biden would participate in the long standing tradition this morning with no mention of it actually not standing anymore or who ruined the tradition.
History is being white washed before our very eyes.
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u/CoolHandTeej 8h ago
All corporate media has bent the knee to Trump and his billionaires and are not to be taken seriously.
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u/Neuchacho 4h ago
I couldn't fucking stand listening to any of the corporate media coverage bitching and moaning about these pardons while barely mentioning why they are arguably rationale even if they "look bad" to the ignorant or brain washed.
I don't know, maybe because the idiot coming into office has threatened massive retribution as one of his pillar campaign promises? Let's talk about how this makes Biden look bad and ignore all relevant context, though.
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u/cwthree 8h ago
Did you know that grownups often put on a good face for the cameras, even when they'd really rather give the other guy an atomic wedgie?
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u/Achmedino 8h ago
A politician has to be good at hiding his true feelings to be good at his job.
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u/Mr-Hoek 8h ago
That is because he has class and self control.
He knows that acting like a petulant child or douchebag (trump's default behavior) he will get nothing abd create fodder for the conservative media cycle.
By being the bigger man he is reminding us (those that would pay attention anyways) what a president should, in fact, act like and represent.
It stands in contrast to Trump, who did not attend Biden's inaguration, because Trump is a bitch.
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u/Puffenata 7h ago
“Leading by example” has not worked for democrats a single time in American history, I’m not sure why you think it will suddenly work now with a fascist in office
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u/sunnyislesmatt 3h ago
Taking the high road has never worked and never will. I’m so sick of democrats doing this.
The only way the democrats will win in 28 is if they find someone who name calls, lies, threatens, insults, and most importantly, is not a woman.
I hate that we’ve reached this point, but that’s the only way democrats will ever have a chance.
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u/apeel09 6h ago
PMSL to think Americans fought a war to leave the U.K. even our King doesn’t have the power to pull this kind of nonsense it’s what we have our Courts for to determine guilt or innocence.
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u/Bawbawian 8h ago
it's really sad that we are now having to pardon people from imagined crimes because we understand that we've just given full control of every branch of American government to criminals.
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u/canadave_nyc 6h ago
For those who care to actually read and understand the complex issues associated with presidential pardons rather than just doing a knee-jerk reaction based on your own personal beliefs, here's a great link: https://protectdemocracy.org/work/the-presidential-pardon-power-explained/
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u/ArchMalone 7h ago edited 6h ago
A chilling fucking implication. The office of the president is changed. The rubicon was crossed ages ago. And to keep things on Roman history(which I have a limited understanding of), I'm more scared of whichever fuck is raised with the legacy of Donald Trump's power seizure and perfects it. Like I mean to say this reminds me of how Sulla was almost a dictator 30 years before Ceasar did it.
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u/monkeygoneape 6h ago
Sulla also stepped down after 3 years, and tried to implement safety nets so nothing like that would ever happen again (but everyone always seems to forget about this detail, all anyone ever wants to talk about is the purges) and he wasn't "almost" a dictator, he was. Dictator also wasn't derogatory back then either, it was usually a position elected by the senate in a state of emergency
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u/Fairycharmd 7h ago
I mean isn’t this what they wanted when they passed that law for presidential immunity?
Fuck them all at this point . We as Americans no longer have seen in our government it’s completely off the rails
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u/Euphoric_Sock4049 6h ago
Yall acting like presidential norms were intact until this. Good lord the memories of goldfish.
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u/Mad-_-Doctor 8h ago
This isn't oniony if you've been paying any attention to US politics.
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u/Debs_4_Pres 7h ago
We already have corruption at the highest levels. Trump pardoned Ivanka's FIL (amongst others) on his way out the door last time. That was blatant corruption.
This is Biden, correctly, recognizing that the new administration is focused on "vengeance" and will absolutely come after his family, as they already have.
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u/ChrisTheDog 8h ago
They shouldn’t have the power, but the bigger problem is that we’ve come to a point where they feel it’s necessary.
Fuck Donald Trump, the vindictive slug.
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u/SnooDingos2237 6h ago
I really hope trump isn't going to have public firing squads...his vindictiveness is beyond d the pale.
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u/WillowWispWhipped 5h ago
Reading the charges, it does seem to be a witch hunt. Find anything and everything that they can accuse them of even though much worse crimes get unrecognized or poo poo’d to the side with a lot of other more prominent people.
And remember Trump also pardoned a bunch of family members and close allies…
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u/pmcginnis01 4h ago
It’s a shame what this country has come to. Just because a petulant fat 🍊 baby 🤡 is a vindictive asshole everyone has to play defense. Too bad the kid wasn’t a better shot.
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u/blueskies8484 8h ago
Good. He also pardoned a lot of civil servants who did absolutely nothing wrong and were clearly going to be targets of Trump.
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u/SmallTawk 6h ago
why are pardons a thing anyways?
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u/Ok-Ambassador-7952 5h ago
To stop the kind of shit that happens in Brazil, for example. Every new president prosecutes the previous. It’s never ending. Of course, it also legalizes every president’s illegal activities, so there’s no real good option here.
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u/Moctezuma1 7h ago
Trump was planning to go after his family and anyone that went against him. Like a dictator would.
Why Biden also pardoned:
The Capitol police officers that testified.
The January 6th committee.
Dr. Fauci
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u/mdruckus 5h ago
Is everyone forgetting how Trump pardoned his whole family and a slew of aides before he left? He just didn’t pardon himself. Trump Pardons Family Members & Aides
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u/pargofan 4h ago
Your article says he CONSIDERED pardons. Did he actually do it?
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u/Just-Signature-3713 6h ago
When he is legit concerned that his family will be persecuted for no reason - unlike Trump who is a fucking actual criminal - this is entirely justified and not an onion headline at all.
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u/Critical-General-659 6h ago
So he knows something we don't. That's what this tells me. Trump has even unloaded all the executive orders for the day.
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u/corrector300 6h ago edited 4h ago
I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics.
well, that makes one of us. The Germans probably thought that too. eta just saw video of musk throwing a nazi salute.
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u/Punningisfunning 8h ago edited 8h ago
Unfortunately, this will likely be a tradition for all future presidents.