Scott Boehmer

Tag: Presidential Pardons

  • Pardoning 1500 Insurrectionists Is An Insult To America

    It was, without hyperbole, an insurrection against this country. An attempted coup, a bona fide attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. And it was the most violent attack on the Capitol since 1814. And yet, now re-elected President Trump has made a mockery of the attack on our country and our democracy by pardoning 1500 traitors involved and commuting the sentence of 14 others, including violent felons who attacked law enforcement officers on their way to invading the Capitol. President Trump is not a member of a party of law and order.

    Devin Stone, LegalEagle

    Pardoning 1500 Insurrectionists Is An Insult To America (LegalEagle)

  • More on Biden’s Pardon

    It’s one in a long line of things that should be punished by the electorate, but are currently not. This kind of behavior, whether it is from President Biden or former President Trump should have made either of the candidates unelectable. But we aren’t rewarding people for doing the right thing, and we’re not punishing people for doing the wrong thing. And unfortunately, I don’t see that trend changing anytime soon.

    And as I said at the beginning, there’s no dispute that the President actually possesses this power. But we’re in really bad shape as a country, if the rule is if you’re legally allowed to do it, then you can and should do it.

    I guess this is a good reminder that so much of what we’ve come to respect in our society and in our government is not about the law as it’s explicitly written down, but is just a norm that we’ve grown accustomed to. A norm that is slowly eroding.

    Devin Stone, LegalEagle

    The Hunter Biden Pardon Is An Abuse of Power (LegalEagle)

  • Biden’s Pardon

    Joe Biden has now provided every Republican—and especially those running for Congress in 2026—with a ready-made heat shield against any criticism about Trump’s pardons, past or present. Biden has effectively neutralized pardons as a political issue, and even worse, he has inadvertently given power to Trump’s narrative about the unreliability of American institutions. Biden at first promised to respect the jury’s verdict in Hunter’s gun trial, and vowed he would not pardon Hunter—and then said that because “raw politics” had “infected this process,” he had to act. And so now every Republican can say: When it comes to pardons, all I know is that I agree with Joe Biden that the Justice Department can’t be trusted to treat Americans fairly. I’m glad he finally saw the light.

    Tom Nichols

    The Hunter Biden Pardon Is a Strategic Mistake (The Atlantic)

    Some have suggested that Biden’s pardoning his son will now give Trump license to pardon anyone he wants, apparently forgetting that in his first term, Trump pardoned his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion, campaign finance offenses, and witness tampering and whom Trump has now tapped to become the U.S. ambassador to France.

    Trump also pardoned for various crimes men who were associated with the ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian operatives working to elect Trump. Those included his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and former allies Roger Stone and Steve Bannon. Those pardons, which suggested Trump was rewarding henchmen, received a fraction of the attention lavished on Biden’s pardon of his son.

    Heather Cox Richardson

    December 2, 2024 (Letters from an American)

    Personally, I’m disappointed to see President Biden pardon his son, especially after saying that he wouldn’t do so. On the other hand, it is important to remember the context that Trump already has used a pardon for a family member and has also used them to shield his political allies.