List includes Schiff, Pelosi, Cheney, Fauci for speaking truth to power
By Dan K Community
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In a recent diary, The Hunter Biden Pardon Was the Right Thing to Do [Updated], in which I argued that President Biden was right to pardon his son Hunter because of fears of what Trump and his lackeys might to him once they got power, a number of comments said that Biden should do the same for all the others on Trump’s shit list for the same reason.
Well, today Politico reports that the Biden White House is thinking about doing just that: Biden White House Is Discussing Preemptive Pardons for Those in Trump’s Crosshairs
President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with the discussions.
Biden’s aides are deeply concerned about a range of current and former officials who could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments, a sense of alarm which has only accelerated since Trump last weekend announced the appointment of Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel has publicly vowed to pursue Trump’s critics.
There are some procedural and precedential problems, of course:
The White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary step of handing out blanket pardons to those who’ve committed no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety, only fueling Trump’s criticisms, and because those offered preemptive pardons may reject them.
Highly visible targets of the Trump revenge machine include Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Anthony Fauci, and many others who dared speak truth to power. President Biden himself should be on that list, but the Supreme Court’s declaration of presidential immunity just might shield him (and no matter how good the injustices have become at pretszle-twisting, I doubt even they could come up with a plausible ruling that includes Trump while excluding Biden).
That the conversations are taking place at all reflects the growing anxieties among high-level Democrats about just how far Trump’s reprisals could go once he reclaims power. The remarkable, 11-year breadth of Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter illustrated how worried the White House is about Trump officials seizing any potential openings for prosecution.
At issue, to repurpose a phrase, is whether to take Trump seriously and literally when it comes to his prospective revenge tour against Democrats and others in the so-called Deep State who’ve raised his ire.
It’s good to see the White House understands that Trump really means what he says, and the worst things he says are the ones he most wants to do.
Politico posts this link: Sen. Markey urges Biden to issue preemptive pardons ahead of Trump's inauguration and reports other lawmakers “have been just as emphatic in private with Biden’s aides in calling for preemptive pardons.” Some Democrats are saying Biden shouldn’t (they are Democrats, after all), but
Some may publicly oppose preemptive pardons, for reasons of innocence or precedence, while privately hoping the president offers legal protection.
The article also points out that just being investigated, even if no charges are ultimately filed, can cause financial and reputational ruin.
Some Biden appointees, I’m told by people facing scrutiny, are already considering taking the best-paying jobs next year in part to ensure they have the resources to defend themselves against any investigations.
Biden is known to be protective of his staff and, as a longtime lawyer, Senator, and now President, is very much aware of how the power of the government can be misused to destroy political enemies. He may not be able to protect the patriots who were just doing their jobs from all the possible mischief that Trump can make, but this is a step he can take to insulate them from legal peril.
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I’m posting this part of a comment by Old Left Good Left in response to comments that a pardon requires acknowledgement of guilt:
The 10th Circuit held that accepting the pardon was not a confession of guilt. It noted that, among other things, a pardon can be posthumous (and a dead person cannot confess anything) or that the very reason for granting a pardon is the belief that the recipient is actually innocent or was convicted in a miscarriage of justice.
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Jennifer Rubin’s column this morning adds her voice to the call: Hunter’s pardon isn’t the issue. What matters are pardons for everyone else. After pointing out all the criminals Trump has pardoned because they were loyal to him (“Charles Kushner, Michael Flynn and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, to name a few”) or whose relatives were useful to him, Rubin then names a number of people who had in some way or other gotten in Trump’s way, such as Michael Cohen and Mark Milley, E. Jean Carroll, Cassidy Hutchinson,
plus the multiple categories of Americans — including journalists, lawyers, political opponents and election workers — Trump (or his minions, including his choice for FBI director, Kash Patel) have specifically mentioned for retribution. . . .
Biden need not, must not, leave such individuals to the MAGA wolves.
(No, she did not mention Leonard Peltier.)
Trump, she admits, can still pursue civil cases against anyone he doesn’t like. But at least he won’t be able to use the criminal courts and threats of prison.
In sum, Biden can mute concerns about Hunter’s pardon by recognizing the real danger: Trump’s announced threats of vengeance against an array of Americans whose only “crime” was seeking to hold Trump accountable. Protecting the potential targets of a wrathful president would serve the interests of democracy, effectively short-circuiting Trump’s revenge agenda. If Biden’s mercy extends beyond his son, his pardons may be seen as more high-minded and politically savvy: namely, limiting Trump’s reign of vengeance.
Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney among potential Trump victims.
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