Joe Biden grants preventive pardons to his entire family and potential Trump targets

He had been contemplating the idea for months, weighing the pros and cons, and at the last moment, just a few hours before leaving the White House forever, President Joe Biden has made the decision to grant a preventive presidential pardon to officials and the military. who have dedicated decades to public service, fearing that they could be persecuted and ruined by the incoming administration. But also, in an unexpected turn, unprecedented and impossible to defend, Biden has decided to preemptively pardon almost his entire family. His brothers Frank and James, his sister Valerie, his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law for any irregular act they may have committed since 2014.

Biden, furthermore, has waited until the last minute, literally. The first part of the pardons, those from officials, were communicated early in the morning. But those of his family, who arrive after having done the same with his son Hunter taking advantage of the Thanksgiving long weekend, have been known while Donald Trump was sworn in at the Capitol, while the eyes of the country were distracted by Thanksgiving Day. the Inauguration.

“My family has been the subject of incessant attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to harm me, the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” the statement said, using word for word. with his son in November. “I believe in the rule of law and am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” he says as his actions prove otherwise. “But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial protection of affected individuals and their families. Even when people have done nothing wrong and will eventually be exonerated, the mere act of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputation and finances.”

That’s why, says the statement that will be the talk of the town for a long time, “I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens and Francis W .Biden. The issuance of these pardons should not be confused with an acknowledgment that they have committed a crime.nor should acceptance be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt for any crime,” he concludes.

The political consequences for Biden are zerobecause today he put an end to his career. But It is another thing for his legacy, his memory, for his party and for the system that he has helped build over the past five decades. In November it was said that the father had prevailed over the president, because his son was about to receive sentencing for the crimes for which he had been convicted after pleading guilty. This is another level, and masked between pardons or commutations from activists who have been demanding it for decades.

Officials and military

And among the decision, also controversial but with at least some substance, about officials who have been actively threatened by Trump and incoming members of the administration.

Among those beneficiaries are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor who became the face of anti-Covid measures during the pandemic. General Mark A. Milley, who became the head of the High General Staff. And the members and advisor of the Special Committee that investigated the assault on the Capitol in Congress, as well as the agents of the Capitol Police and the Washington DC metropolitan area who testified before it.

All of them have been insulted and singled out and there are more than well-founded fears that they could be the main targets of retaliatory measures. Donald Trump, his advisors or supporters have held him responsible for his work and his words, and have said that they should be prosecuted or locked up, especially in the case of Miley, whom they accuse of treason. Or former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The politician was part of the committee, voted in one of the impeachments in favor of sanctioning Trump and even campaigned with Kamala Harris in October of last year.

“Our nation depends on dedicated and selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy. However, it is alarming that public servants have been subjected to constant threats and intimidation for faithfully carrying out their duties. In certain cases, some They have even been threatened with criminal prosecution, including General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and members and staff of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be subject to unjustified prosecutions and politically motivated,” Biden announced in a statement on Monday morning, just a short time before receiving Trump himself for a farewell tea before heading to the Capitol.

The decision is more than controversial and comes after having pardoned and forgiven his own son Hunter during the Thanksgiving long weekend for any possible crimes committed in the last decade. The difference is that his son had already been convicted and was days away from hearing the sentence. Fauci, Miley, Cheney and all the others have neither committed crimes nor been charged nor convicted of anything. It is something preventive and creates a series of very dangerous precedents. Donald Trump could do the same with his children in the next four years, freeing them from any responsibility for any actions, conversations, financial or personal transactions they carry out. And above all, he could do the same with his subordinates, causing from now on all of the president’s close advisors to have de facto total immunity for their actions, as he has by law after the latest interpretation of the Supreme Court.

“I believe in the rule of law and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden says, evoking the same language as when he forgave his family. “But These are exceptional circumstances and I cannot, in good conscience, do nothing. Unfounded and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial protection of affected individuals and their families. Even when people have done nothing wrong (and, in fact, have done the right thing) and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere act of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputation and finances.”

The risk for Fauci, for example, was probably not to be condemned for the anti-Covid measures, the confinements, although he has become the main enemy of all followers of conspiracies, including some who are going to have very important positions. But simply be ssubjected to years and years of continuous litigation costing millions of dollars in lawyers.

A dangerous precedent

The risk to his image, furthermore, is that in the eyes of the MAGA movement and millions of Americans, this will be the definitive demonstration that his complaints, beliefs and theories were true. That they were guilty and that “corrupt Joe”, as Trump usually calls him, in his last moments, has forgiven them. That is why some of the affected congressmen insisted that they did not want a pardon nor was it a good solution. “LThe granting of these pardons should not be confused with an acknowledgment that any person has committed a crime, nor should their acceptance be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt. for some crime. “Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to these public servants for their tireless commitment to our country,” the text concludes.

“I feel good and I am grateful to the president for doing it”Dr. Fauci told CNN this morning. “I have done nothing wrong. Certainly nothing criminal. There is no basis whatsoever,” added the former head of the White House Covid task force already in the Trump era. The doctor explained that Biden’s team contacted him about a month ago to discuss “baseless threats against me” and told him the president was exploring the idea. “I didn’t know it was real until last night.”

“After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend my remaining time fighting those who might unjustly seek revenge. for perceived slights,” General Miley, who a few weeks ago called Trump a fascist, said in a statement. “I do not want to expose my family, my friends and those with whom I served to the resulting distractions, expenses and anxiety.” .

Biden’s pardons They don’t cover many other potential Trump targets.p, including federal and state prosecutors who accused the president of trying to overturn the 2020 election, mishandling classified documents and covering up the payment of hush money to an adult film star. Not to senior officials of Justice or the world of Security and Defense. The nominee for the next director of the FBI, Kash Patel, has, for example, published a book including an appendix with lists of up to 60 names that he considered should be purged. And the president has said numerous times that some of those pardoned, and other officials, should be tried and convicted, even appointing special prosecutors.

“Joe Biden’s last act as president will go down in history as the greatest attack on the justice system of the United States. In one fell swoop, he unilaterally protected a group of political cronies of the scales of justice. This is another dangerous and irreversible erosion of American norms,” ​​Taylor Budowich, Trump’s choice as deputy chief of staff, immediately reacted.