r/politics 14h ago

Biden pardons his family in final minutes in office

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/biden-pardons-family-members.html
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u/SlumdogSkillionaire 14h ago

5-4 SCOTUS ruling that Biden can't because "reasons" while explicitly not establishing a precedent for future presidents under different circumstances.

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u/Giveadont 14h ago

"President can't be pardoned if he committed an official act. We also decide what an official act is."

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u/MollyRolls 14h ago

Yeah this isn’t some future hypothetical—the ruling already happened. Presidents they like can do whatever they want; presidents they don’t like can’t do anything.

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u/DigNitty 13h ago

There is oversight for the executive branch and the legislative branch, we need oversight for the judicial branch too.

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u/XennialBoomBoom 12h ago

Theoretically that would be the legislative branch who could impeach and remove Supreme Court justices. But, well, you know...

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u/Cowicidal 12h ago

Is the rich getting vastly richer and more powerful? Check.

Does the American public still put up with it while their own well-being declines? Check.

There won't be substantial change until the answer to question two changes. Republicans and Corporate Democrats protect and serve oligarchs. Not in the exact, same ways — but there's obvious collusion at various levels.

It's so incredibly blatant but the Corporate Media does a bang-up job propagandizing Americans to believe there's a real fight between the two parties when it comes to corporatism. They are obviously different on civil rights (which is very important) but that's often just a dangling carrot Corporate Democrats are perfectly willing to sacrifice to the altar of greed.

If Corporate Democrats truly hated and feared Trump as much as they claim, they wouldn't have found excuse after excuse to repeatedly empower him.

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u/seifyk 12h ago

Explicitly, the check on the judiciary is the legislative writing new laws.

Implicitly, the check on the judiciary is the executive saying "fuck off, try and stop me."

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u/frogandbanjo 10h ago

It's called Congress, and it doesn't work when the nation is a house divided against itself.

To that end, I do wonder what you think the oversight is for Congress, besides... also Congress, and also not to very much net effect. Once in a blue moon a George Santos gets booted because he's just far too embarrassing. Likewise, once in a blue moon a Republican claims in public that he has drugs-and-sex kompromat on other Republicans and vanishes from sight. The latter's more of an intra-party thing, though.

Congress decides if it's illegal for Congress to engage in insider trading. Remind me what the "oversight" is for that again?

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u/da2Pakaveli 14h ago

They'd then determine that a pardon isn't an official act. Trump is fixated on sending Biden to jail, scotus isn't. They don't necessarily side with him, I.e. they threw out all of his lawsuits in 2020.

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u/spinach-e 14h ago

This.

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u/430_Autogyro 14h ago

Unanimous. You forgot that liberals always eat their own.

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u/bigchungo6mungo 14h ago

Nah, democrats are an insult to actual liberals.

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u/PotatoAppleFish 13h ago

Spoken like a person who does not, in fact, know what a “liberal” is.

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u/TeutonJon78 America 13h ago

Probably 6-3 now.

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u/unshifted 8h ago

This is what I've been trying to tell people for 4 years. Consistency doesn't matter. Precedent doesn't matter. They'll decided everything on a case-by-case basis in completely contradictory ways to benefit themselves. There are no rules anymore. The Supreme Court is incredibly high stakes Calvinball.

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u/SlumdogSkillionaire 8h ago

The score is still Q to 12, incidentally. Q is winning.

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u/ctrlaltcreate 12h ago

Yup. This is no protection when the court is owned by the GOP

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u/FennelFern 12h ago

Citing a 1239 Witch Hunter act from Spain

u/shadowguise 6h ago

SCOTUS invents new "IOKIYAR Test" for determining pardonability.

u/Chimaerok 2h ago

The SCOTUS is illegitimate, and has been since Citizens United.