Biden sets record for one-day sentence commutations, and he is considering blanket pardons to counter Trump's plans to turn second term into a revenge tour

Dr. Anthony Fauci could be in line for a pardon due to Trump's thirst for revenge (Getty)

President Biden yesterday commuted the sentences of 1,500 Americans, a record for one day, according to a report at The New York Times (NYT). The Times and other sources, report that Biden might not be finished with such actions. Recent articles that originated at the Daily Beast explain:

The Biden administration is drawing up a list of possible pardons to counter Donald Trump's rhetoric that he plans to center a second term around a desire for retribution against perceived political enemies, according to a report at the Daily Beast and Yahoo! News. Under the headline "Biden Has Drawn Up Pardon List Over Fears of Trump’s Revenge," the Beast's Amethyst Martinez writes:

Blanket precautionary pardons are being considered for some of Donald Trump’s biggest political foes, according to a new report.

Biden officials have been looking at who Trump and his FBI-director pick Kash Patel may go after once they take over the White House, the latest sign of concern from the Democratic Party ahead of Trump's impending inauguration.

Some of those who are being considered for the precautionary pardon include newly-elected Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who served on Congress’s Jan 6. Committee; former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney; and Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, according to Politico.

“I would urge the president not to do that,” Schiff said to Politico, who reported that the potential targets know nothing. “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”

Both Cheney and Fauci did not respond to requests for comment from Politico, the report noted. Martinez writes:

In the past, Trump has said on multiple occasions that his adversaries should go to jail. “Schiff is a sleazebag and traitor, and should be prosecuted for the damage he has done to our Country,” a January 2023 Trump statement read.

Earlier this year, Trump reposted a photo of Fauci, along with other political adversaries, such as Biden, Kamala Harris, and Nancy Pelosi, all wearing orange jumpsuits. The caption read: “HOW TO ACTUALLY ‘FIX THE SYSTEM.’”

In regard to Cheney, Trump wrote in March: “She should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”

Politico wrote that multiple senior aides are in on the discussion, including chief of staff Jeff Zients. President Joe Biden has not been in the blanket-pardon conversations as of yet, zeroing in on his son Hunter Biden’s pardon, people familiar with the situation told Politico.

Hunter’s pardon seemed to have stemmed from worries of what Trump’s second term could mean for the son of the president.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden wrote in a  statement.

Martinez points out that Trump made it a common practice to issue pardons for political allies. In essence, Biden would be following the Trump playbook. Martinez writes:

During his own presidency, Trump granted a number of pardons to people deemed close allies, including Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Others jockeyed for inclusion on the select list, but were ultimately rebuffed.

Those included former Trump legal adviser John Eastman—the author of a controversial “coup memo” outlining the discredited legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence could use his powers to reject the 2020 election results.

In the days after Jan. 6, 2021, Eastman emailed former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and proclaimed, “I’ve decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works.”

NYT has published multiple reports recently about Biden and pardons, focusing both on commutations issued yesterday and possible blanket pardons driven by Trump's apparent thirst for revenge. From The Times:

Most of those being granted clemency had been placed in home confinement during the pandemic. Some Republicans have tried to push legislation that would have forced those people to return to prison.

The commutations — the largest number by a president in a single day, the White House said — affect those who had been released from prison and placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. The pardons went to people convicted of nonviolent crimes, including drug offenses.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. He said the clemency represented his commitment to “help reunite families, strengthen communities and reintegrate individuals back into society. . . . "

The pardon recipients include multiple people who were convicted of drug crimes as young adults only to serve in the military and go on to support families of slain U.S. troops, help charities or train local firefighters. The Justice Department’s pardon attorney reviewed each of those cases before recommending them to White House lawyers, who then presented them to Mr. Biden.

As for possible Trump-related pardons, The Times reported in one article: 

Mr. Biden said he would take more steps in the weeks ahead and continue to review clemency petitions. His staff has been debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a number of Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies to protect them from the “retribution” he has threatened, people familiar with the discussion have said.

White House officials do not believe the potential recipients have actually committed crimes, but they have grown increasingly worried that Mr. Trump’s selections for top Justice Department positions indicate that he will follow through on his repeated vows to seek revenge. The idea would be to pre-emptively extend executive clemency to a list of current and former government officials, effectively short-circuiting the next president’s promised campaign of reprisals.

 In a similar article, The Times reported:

Mr. Biden has come under increasing pressure to use his clemency powers before he hands over power to President-elect Donald J. Trump. As a senator, Mr. Biden had championed a 1994 crime bill that many experts say fueled mass incarceration. He has since expressed regret for his support of the legislation, and he committed during the 2020 campaign to addressing the long drug sentences that resulted.

Some congressional Democrats and others have also called on Mr. Biden to reduce the sentences of all 40 people on federal death row to life without parole. Mr. Trump supports the death penalty and restarted federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause during his first term. . . . 

Mr. Biden said he would take more steps in the weeks ahead and continue to review clemency petitions. His staff has been debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a number of Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies to protect them from the “retribution” he has threatened, people familiar with the discussion have said.

White House officials do not believe the potential recipients have actually committed crimes, but they have grown increasingly worried that Mr. Trump’s selections for top Justice Department positions indicate that he will follow through on his repeated vows to seek revenge. The idea would be to pre-emptively extend executive clemency to a list of current and former government officials, effectively short-circuiting the next president’s promised campaign of reprisals.

Is it a sad state of affairs when an outgoing U.S. president must consider blanket pardons to protect apparently innocent people from being targeted by an incoming president and his choice for FBI director -- both of whom come across as raving madmen, with little knowledge of, or respect for, the law? I can't remember a similarly grim situation in our nation's history.

Is it possible that Trump and Kash Patel don't know that probable cause must be established before launching a criminal action against a defendant? Trump is a non-lawyer, and my guess is that he definitely does not know how the law works. Patel has a law degree, but you would never know it from the vile garbage that comes out of his mouth.

The American "justice" system has been in poor shape for years -- and now, with a president who believes cases should be based on his personal grievances, the situation likely is about to get much worse.I still can't believe a significant number of Americans went to the polls and voted for this guy.