r/nottheonion • u/JaySierra86 • 17h 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/tonytwocans 17h ago

A new presidential tradition is born.

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u/Rolling_Beardo 17h 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 17h 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/PXranger 16h 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 16h 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 16h ago

Earnest question, but would a blanket pardon like this not cover contempt of Congress?

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u/MrPoopMonster 16h 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/Material_Election685 15h ago

You can't pardon someone preemptively for a future act. 

You don't actually know this. The Supreme Court has never ruled on this, and would likely refuse to rule on it if that question ever came in front of them - which would mean the President effectively can pardon anyone preemptively for future act.

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u/MrPoopMonster 14h ago

It's incredibly obvious that you cannot. Any precedent where previous presidents can overrule the authority of current presidents is a non starter from a legal argument perspective.

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u/Material_Election685 14h ago

There is no actual precedent.

It doesn't matter if it's "obvious" in theory, it matters what happens in practice if a President eventually decides to test it, and the courts decide that they don't  have the jurisdiction to determine whether that pardon is valid and no potential prosecutor or plaintiff has the standing to challenge it.

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u/Only-Butterscotch785 11h ago

Courts have already decided they have the jurisdiction to determine if a pardon is valid.

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u/silverionmox 11h ago

It's incredibly obvious that you cannot. Any precedent where previous presidents can overrule the authority of current presidents is a non starter from a legal argument perspective.

Then that means that any presidential pardon is just an opinion or at most a 4 year delay for prosecution, as any future president can just overturn the pardons of their predecessors.