Flashback: Biden told CNN he would not issue preemptive pardons before leaving office
President Biden previously pledged that he would not issue preemptive pardons before leaving office, telling CNN that he would take a “totally different approach” to the justice system compared to then-President Trump.
In December 2020, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden if he was concerned about rumors that Trump would dole out a wave of preemptive pardons for some of his closest confidantes.
“Well, it concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets in how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice,” he said.
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Biden issued several preemptive pardons to prominent critics of Donald Trump on Monday. (Left to right: (Photo by: William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images), (Photo by Mandel Ngan – Pool/Getty Images), (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images), (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))
Biden later attempted to distinguish between how he would govern versus the Trump administration.
“You’re not going to see in our administration that kind of approach to pardons,” Biden said. “Nor are you going to see in our administration the approach to making policy by tweets. You know, it’s going to be a totally different way in which we approach the justice system.”
Since then, Biden appears to have had a change of heart—issuing a plethora of preemptive pardons on his way out the door.
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President Biden said he was considering preemptive pardons based on whom President-elect Donald Trump nominates for key spots. (Getty Images)
Biden announced early on Monday that he was issuing preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members and staff of the now-defunct House select committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Just before President Trump took the oath of office on Monday, news broke that Biden had also issued pardons for five other members of his family.
Biden had teased the possibility of issuing preemptive pardons weeks ago in an interview with USA Today. At the end of his term, Biden’s pardons have proven to be some of his most controversial actions as president, particularly the pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, last month.
Some Republicans have signaled that they want the pardons investigated.
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Joe Biden previously said he would not hand out preemptive pardons as president. (CNN/Screengrab)
Trump, the incoming president, has pardoned political allies like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn. However, unlike Biden’s latest decision, both were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) when those pardons were issued.
There is precedent for preemptive pardons, however. Former President Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.
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Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
