{"id":134190,"date":"2024-12-07T02:54:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T19:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=134190"},"modified":"2024-12-07T02:54:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T19:54:46","slug":"biden-cant-save-trumps-enemies-from-persecution-with-preemptive-pardons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=134190","title":{"rendered":"Biden can\u2019t save Trump\u2019s enemies from persecution with preemptive pardons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Politico reports that top White House officials are considering having President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/12\/04\/biden-white-house-pardons-00192610\">issue preemptive pardons<\/a> of several current and former federal officials who may be targeted by President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s incoming administration. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">For <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/71\/333\/\">more than 150 years<\/a>, the Supreme Court has understood the president\u2019s power to issue pardons as entirely within his discretion; typically, neither Congress nor the courts may intervene. Yet, while the Constitution permits Biden to pardon whoever he wants, such a pardon won\u2019t necessarily protect its recipient from everything Trump or his allies in government might do to make life difficult for Trump\u2019s perceived enemies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Trump has repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/03\/07\/us\/politics\/trump-2024-president.html\">threatened \u201cretribution\u201d<\/a> against perceived enemies, and some of his nominees for top law enforcement jobs have gotten more specific. In a 2023 book, FBI director nominee Kash Patel published a list of 60 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Timodc\/status\/1863620081873244259\/photo\/1\">members of the executive branch deep state<\/a>\u201d \u2014 all people his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/05\/us\/politics\/biden-trump-pardons.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share\">FBI might try to investigate<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Patel\u2019s list includes Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; current and former top government officials, including Republicans like former Attorney General Bill Barr; as well as more obscure figures like a former FBI agent and a former legal representative for the Democratic National Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">According to the New York Times, the discussion of pardons for these or other individuals \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/05\/us\/politics\/biden-trump-pardons.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share\">remains primarily at a staff level<\/a>,\u201d but those discussions are reportedly being led by White House counsel Ed Siskel, one of Biden\u2019s highest-level advisers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Current law provides that people who are pardoned receive broad legal protections against federal criminal charges. Any pardons Biden issues should be virtually invulnerable to a court challenge. In <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/71\/333\/\"><em>Ex parte Garland<\/em><\/a> (1866), the Supreme Court held that the president\u2019s pardon power is \u201cunlimited,\u201d except that the president cannot pardon impeachments. Under <em>Garland<\/em>, the pardon power \u201cextends to every offence known to [federal] law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.\u201d It also is \u201cnot subject to legislative control.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">There is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/scotus\/2023\/7\/8\/23784320\/supreme-court-2022-term-affirmative-action-religion-voting-rights-abortion\">always some risk<\/a> that the current Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 Republican supermajority, will ignore precedent. But the idea that presidents get to decide who is pardoned and that courts do not get to second-guess those decisions is well-established and stretches back to at least the post-Civil War period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Three limits on Biden\u2019s pardon power<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">There actually are three very significant limits on the pardon power, however. A person pardoned by Biden might still be successfully targeted by Trump administration officials or Trump\u2019s allies in state government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">One is that, as the head of the federal government, Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/tile.loc.gov\/storage-services\/service\/ll\/usrep\/usrep267\/usrep267087\/usrep267087.pdf\">can only pardon federal crimes<\/a>. So someone who receives a pardon from Biden (or any other sitting president) might still be prosecuted by state officials for offenses under state law. The Trump administration, in other words, could potentially lean on MAGA-friendly state prosecutors to target individuals who receive a federal pardon from Biden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">It should be noted that state prosecutors should not be allowed to target a former federal official for something that official did pursuant to their duties as a federal employee. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">The seminal Supreme Court case on this point, <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/135\/1\/\"><em>In re Neagle<\/em><\/a> (1890), arose from a truly wild set of facts. Stephen Field, a justice of the US Supreme Court, had a longstanding feud with David Terry, a former Chief Justice of California. In 1889, while Field was eating breakfast at a train station in California, Terry approached and assaulted Field. Field\u2019s bodyguard, a deputy US marshal named David Neagle, then shot and killed Terry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">After California charged Neagle with murder, the US Supreme Court ruled that this prosecution must be dismissed. Neagle, the Court explained, was \u201cacting under the authority of the law of the United States\u201d when he killed Terry, and thus was \u201cnot liable to answer in the courts of California\u201d for carrying out his official federal duties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Assuming the current Supreme Court honors its precedent in <em>Neagle<\/em>, in other words, former federal officials should be safe from prosecution for state crimes they allegedly committed while \u201cacting under the authority of the United States.\u201d So if a state were to target, say, former federal public health official Anthony Fauci over federal policies Fauci pushed during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fauci should be immune from that prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">The second limit on the pardon power is that, while <em>Garland<\/em> states that presidents may issue a pardon \u201cat any time after\u201d the pardon recipient allegedly committed a criminal act, the president may not prospectively pardon future acts. That means that anyone pardoned by Biden could still be targeted in the Trump administration for anything they do after Biden leaves office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">The third limit is that the pardon power has traditionally been understood to extend only to criminal offenses and not to civil lawsuits or other non-criminal investigations (although at least one scholar has <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=4584&amp;context=buffalolawreview\">argued that it should be extended to civil offenses<\/a>). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">Thus, while Biden could potentially shield Trump\u2019s perceived enemies from federal criminal prosecutions, the Trump administration might still sue a pardoned individual for allegedly violating a civil statute. It could also potentially use non-criminal investigations, such as an IRS income tax audit, to target people Trump views as foes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Even if Trump\u2019s enemies are ultimately exonerated, the federal government could still cause them an extraordinary amount of misery<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">As a final point, it\u2019s worth noting that lawyers are expensive. Anyone Biden might preemptively pardon, who is targeted by the federal government, could run up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees even if the courts ultimately determine that this individual is both immune from prosecution and not liable for any civil offense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">This is doubly true if the Trump administration manages to shunt any criminal proceeding or civil dispute against a pardoned individual into a MAGA-aligned judge\u2019s courtroom, who might defy precedents like <em>Garland <\/em>or <em>Neagle<\/em>. While the Supreme Court may eventually intervene and declare the individual immune from prosecution or suit, that may not happen until after years of investigations and months of lower court proceedings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">And, even if a federal investigation uncovers no illegal activity \u2014 or even no activity that the Trump administration can characterize as illegal in order to bring meritless charges \u2014 such an investigation might still uncover embarrassing or damaging information that could then be made public. Perhaps one of Trump\u2019s perceived enemies is engaged in an extramarital affair. Or maybe they simply said something hurtful about a family member or business partner in an email they thought would remain private.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1agbrixh lg8ac51 lg8ac50 xkp0cg0\">The bottom line is that, if the federal government is determined to make your life miserable, it can probably achieve that goal very easily, even if you never spend a day behind bars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"_1tzd3in0 _1agbrixx\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in1\">You\u2019ve read <!-- -->1<!-- --> article<!-- --> in the last month<\/p>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in2\">\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in3\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">Here at Vox, we&#8217;re unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you \u2014 threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a<!-- --> <!-- -->Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">We rely on readers like you \u2014 join us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in5\"><img alt=\"Swati Sharma\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"59\" height=\"69\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in7\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in8\">Swati Sharma<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in9\">Vox Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/criminal-justice\/390060\/biden-trump-pardon-power-supreme-court-enemies\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Politico reports that top White House officials are considering having President Joe Biden issue preemptive pardons of several current and former federal officials who may be targeted by President-elect Donald &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=134190\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=134190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=134190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=134190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=134190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}