9 views 4 mins 0 comments

The Debate Over Blanket Pardons: Biden’s Strategy to Protect Trump’s Perceived Enemies from Retribution

In Citizen
January 19, 2025

Transitioning to the

Transition of Power

Transfer of Power

Prom

Backed by

The Biden administration is reportedly considering issuing blanket pardons before Trump’s potential retaliation against his opponents. White House officials are concerned that Trump’s appointment of highly partisan individuals to key law enforcement positions suggests he may seek vengeance against those he views as his enemies.

Authored by Peter Baker and Erica L. Green

Providing updates from

President Biden’s team is discussing the possibility of granting pardons to a group of people who are considered enemies of President-elect Donald J. Trump. This is being considered in order to shield them from any potential retaliation that Trump has suggested may occur after he assumes office.

The suggestion is to proactively grant executive clemency to a group of current and former government officials for any potential offenses committed over several years, in order to prevent the next president from carrying out vengeance against them as promised during their campaign.

Officials in the White House are concerned that individuals who may not have committed any crimes could face investigations due to President Trump’s appointments in the Justice Department. These investigations, even if they do not lead to charges, could still be lengthy and costly, impacting the individuals financially and professionally.

Talks about blanket pardons have been mainly happening among staff members, as reported by Politico. Although President Biden has discussed the topic with senior team members, it has mostly remained at a lower level. This information comes from sources who are familiar with the situation but prefer to remain anonymous. This discussion follows President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter, saving him from prison on charges related to guns and taxes.

During a briefing on Friday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, 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 and more information will be shared in the future.

Mr. Biden gave a sneak peek of his approach by pardoning his son, clearing him of all charges he was convicted of and any potential crimes he may have been involved in since 2014. This move is likely to prevent any further investigation or prosecution by the Justice Department under Mr. Trump regarding Hunter Biden’s activities that were not deemed worthy of charges by the prosecutor during Trump’s presidency.

We are currently experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.

Kindly activate JavaScript in the settings of your web browser.

We appreciate your patience as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please switch to your Times account or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.

We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access.

Have you already signed up as a member? If so,

Interested in getting access to all of The Times’ content? Subscribe

Prom

Index of Website

Navigation to Information on the Website