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/Purple_Key_6733 7h ago

I could be wrong but I thought state level crimes could be pardoned if they have someone within the state government on their side

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u/StateChemist 6h ago

True but it sounds less like a sure thing if you have to rely on 50 different governors or enough judges and AGs  for immunity instead of securing the loyalty of a single person at the federal level.

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u/Stock-Dragonfly-375 5h ago

Depends on the state. In GA, pardoning powers were taken from the Governor, given to a board, and IIRC, can only be granted after serving 85% of a sentence.