WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden issued pre-emptive pardons on Monday for people Republican successor Donald Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci. The pardon covers all lawmakers, including Cheney, who served on the congressional select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as police officers who testified before it.
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden issued pre-emptive pardons on Monday for people Republican successor Donald Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci. The pardon covers all lawmakers, including Cheney, who served on the congressional select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as police officers who testified before it.
However good in intention this isn’t good. Trump’s people will act without regard for law knowing he can issue preemptive pardons.
They were gonna do that anyway
I agree with the concern, but for different reason. This sets the standard for future presidencies. Imagine if Trump starts proactively pardoning people who might be political targets in the future. It removes the concern that your current actions might be determined to be in detriment in future considerations. Doesn’t matter anymore, because as long as you do what the current president wants, he/she/they will simply provide you a future pardon to protect you from the consequences of your actions!
While I don’t think Fauci did anything wrong or should be targeted, this is overall a very bad precedent to set.
Edit: I misread that last part, sorry. I do, however, think that this concern goes beyond Trump’s presidency.
That seems like the same reason as previous post
I specifically disagree with this being the reason for concern:
Maybe I’m just misreading the intent of that part.
Edit: yeah, I’m misreading. Sorry about that, folks.
My interpretation is you’re both saying the same thing. In regards to what the other person wrote: during Trump’s first term, often people in his administration were worried that something he asked/ordered them to do was against the law. So they’d try to find a legal way to accomplish some part of his request, or just slow walk the order and never really do it. Trump was notorious for having very little follow through on making sure things actually got done. Now trump’s people will do what he asks without worrying about the legality.
Yeah, I misread. I was reading it at Trump’s people will attack regardless of the pardons that were issued.
Too coffee this morning.