This would be a first in such circumstances. According to information from Politico since relayed by the main headlines of the American press, Joe Biden is reportedly considering pronouncing preventive pardons in favor of several figures in the sights of the president elected at the beginning of November, Donald Trump. Targeted by multiple legal proceedings in recent years, the Republican billionaire warned throughout his campaign that in the event of victory, “[sa] revenge would be a success”. In his crosshairs, according to several White House advisers? A whole series of personalities who have opposed him since his defeat in 2020, both in court and at the political level.
The decision to grant preventive pardons has not yet been endorsed by Joe Biden and his entourage, but the hypothesis is indeed seriously being considered. An announcement which would come just after the announcement of another pardon on December 1: that of his own son, Hunter Biden. Found guilty in two cases of illegal possession of a weapon and tax evasion, he was pardoned by his father over a period of ten years, that is to say since 2014. In other words, all the charges against him , but also the possible prosecutions that he could have experienced in the context of potential other investigations, will therefore be abandoned or impossible to implement. Donald Trump also took advantage of this initiative from Joe Biden to demand his own pardon in the Stormy Daniels affair, for which he was found guilty of hidden payments.
Dr. Anthony Fauci could receive a preemptive pardon
The announcement of protection of this nature would therefore be a hypothesis considered by the Biden administration in order to protect those responsible who could be implicated by Donald Trump. In detail, the New York Times mentions several names that could benefit from this measure. Former White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci is on this list. In a work published in 2021, he harshly criticized Donald Trump’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic during his first visit to the White House. Former Republican elected official Liz Cheney, initially a supporter of Donald Trump, was one of the members of the Grand Old Party to support the procedure ofimpeachment against him for his role in the assault on the Capitol in 2021. She had called before the November election to vote for Kamala Harris.
Former special prosecutor Jack Smith, who indicted Donald Trump for illegal attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election before dropping the charges, as well as elected Democratic House of Representatives Adam Schiff, sworn enemy of the billionaire, would also be approached to obtain a possible pre-empted pardon. The latter, very influential in President Biden’s camp, however warned against the implementation of this idea, which he considers bad. “I have more confidence in our justice system, which is capable of channeling the president-elect’s potential abuse of power,” he assured this week, according to comments reported by the Washington Post.
Concerns on the subject have increased since Donald Trump’s victory a month ago and the announcement of his next administration. And for good reason: he appointed several of his close friends to the Ministry of Justice, starting with some of his own lawyers. If the controversial Matt Gaetz finally gave up the post ofattorney generalthe future policy led by the one he supplanted, Pam Bondi, also arouses fears. The appointment, Thursday, December 5, of Kash Patel as head of the FBI is not likely to reassure either. This man is a figure in the QAnon conspiracy movement, whose ideology makes its supporters believe that Donald Trump is in reality fighting against an alleged conspiracy of Satanist pedophiles.