Biden’s record-setting clemency act leaves allies only wanting more
The president commuted 1,500 sentences and issued 39 pardons.
As the Biden administration entered its last months, a group of officials quietly sifted through thousands of clemency applications, debating who should be included in what was envisioned as a splashy, record-setting act of mercy.
Then Joe Biden went rogue and pardoned his son, Hunter, ahead of everybody else.
The president’s surprise decision divided the Democratic Party, upending what had been a methodical clemency process that many hoped would spark a groundswell of appreciation for Biden on his way out.
Instead, allies and criminal justice advocates say, Biden’s act of mass clemency on Thursday now feels like something of a consolation. And even as Democrats applauded the move to grant nearly 1,500 commutations and 39 pardons, they warned the White House still has plenty more to do to satisfy a criminal justice movement eager for others to receive the same level of sympathy as the president’s son.
“The White House knows, and he knows, that he needed to do a big list of pardons,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who was among the Democrats critical of Biden’s blanket pardon for Hunter.
“We’re still looking for the next list of people,” she added. “I’m hopeful that there will be a next list.”
https://archive.is/EEmjw#selection-1119.0-1177.401
Adam Kinzinger in 2022: “The only reason to ask for a pardon is because you think you’ve committed a crime.” pic.twitter.com/0R5WDrIu0c
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) December 13, 2024
