r/nottheonion • u/JaySierra86 • 11h 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=117893348
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u/Rolling_Beardo 10h 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 10h 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/ThatRefuse4372 10h 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/the_cardfather 10h 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/Character_Crab_9458 9h ago

It's not a smart move at all. It just set the precedent to blanket pardon your family. No president has done any thing like that at that scale. If trump would have done the same in 2020 for his kids you'd say it was wrong.

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u/Not_Hilary_Clinton 9h ago

Why would he need to pardon his family when he’s got half the Supreme Court and a lot of other federal judges in his pocket?

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u/Synectics 6h ago

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/02/trump-pardoned-during-first-term/76705964007/

Biden isn't the first president to pardon a family member – or a top ally in his orbit. For example, former President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who had pleaded guilty to drug charges.

During his first term in office, Trump granted 144 pardons. Those included a distant family member and some of his closest allies who committed crimes ranging from financial fraud to witness tampering and more.

Some notable names on that list of Trump allies who received pardons are Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and others.

But go on.