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Biden Team Debates Blanket Pardons Amid Fear of Trump’s ‘Retribution

In Citizen
January 18, 2025

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The Biden administration is considering granting blanket pardons before Trump’s expected retaliation. Officials in the White House are concerned that Trump’s appointment of highly partisan individuals in key law enforcement positions suggests he may seek retribution against those he views as his enemies.

Written by Peter Baker and Erica L. Green

Updating from the capital

The staff of President Biden is discussing the possibility of granting blanket pardons to a group of individuals who are seen as enemies of President-elect Donald J. Trump. This is being considered in order to shield them from the potential consequences they may face due to the threats of "retribution" made by Trump after he assumes office.

The concept involves granting executive clemency in advance to a group of current and former government officials to potentially prevent them from facing charges for any crimes they may have committed over the years. This would essentially prevent the next president from carrying out their plan to seek revenge on these officials.

Officials in the White House are concerned that President Trump’s choices for top positions in the Justice Department suggest that he may act on his promises of seeking revenge, even though they do not think the potential recipients have committed any crimes. They fear that investigations, even if they do not lead to charges, could last for a long time and cause financial strain and harm to the careers of those involved.

There have been talks about blanket pardons within the Biden administration, mostly among staff members. Senior members of the team have also discussed this issue with President Biden. These discussions have been kept confidential, with sources speaking anonymously. This topic arose after President Biden pardoned his son Hunter to prevent him from facing jail time for gun and tax offenses.

During a briefing on Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre chose not to talk about blanket pardons. She did mention that President Biden is looking into potential executive clemency actions before his term ends. Jean-Pierre stated that the president is reviewing options for next steps and more information will be provided in the future.

Mr. Biden gave a hint about his approach by pardoning his son, removing any charges he was convicted of and any potential crimes he may have been involved in since 2014. This move is likely to prevent any actions by Mr. Trump’s Justice Department against Hunter Biden for allegations that were not deemed worthy of charges by the prosecutor who has been investigating him since Mr. Trump’s first term.

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