By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO
Our country has witnessed the highest number of presidential pardons in the history of our nation. As of Dec. 12, 2024, President Joe Biden has given 8,027 pardons, commutations and clemencies. On Dec. 23, he granted clemency to 37 men on death row.
We’ve all by now seen memes on social media. We all innately understand that innocent people don’t need pardons. But 8,027 pardons, commutations, and clemencies?
Hunter Biden’s preemptive pardon is the one and only preemptive pardon handed out by outgoing President Biden so far., pardoning him for all crimes known and unknown, and granted to Hunter two weeks before his sentencing for felony firearms charges. Are there other preemptive pardons in the wind?
Historically, past presidents, Republican and Democrat, have issued preemptive pardons.
In 1858, during the “Utah War,” a conflict between Mormon settlers in Utah and the federal government, President James Buchanan, a Democrat, issued a blanket pardon to Brigham Young and others involved in resisting federal authority.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford, a Republican, issued a full and unconditional pardon to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office as president.
In 1977, shortly after taking office, President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, issued a blanket pardon to thousands of men who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.
The courts have held that the presidential pardon power is unlimited except in cases of impeachment (Ex Parte Garfield 1866); is broad and inclusive nature of constitutional authority (Ex Parte Grossman 1925); and not limited to cases where charges have been filed, or a conviction has occurred (Murphy v Ford 1975).
Alexander Hamilton discusses the pardon power in Federalist No. 74, arguing in favor of its inclusion in the Constitution by emphasizing the importance of mercy in the justice system. Hamilton rationalized that a single executive (the president) is better suited to exercise this power than a larger body like Congress, which might be too slow or swayed by factionalism. He argued that there must be a mechanism to mitigate the “rigors of the law” in certain cases where justice would otherwise be overly harsh.
Hamilton points out that concentrating the pardon power in one person ensures accountability. The president’s reputation and legacy are on the line, making them cautious in using this authority.
He also notes that the pardon power can play a crucial role in times of political unrest, such as during insurrections or rebellions, to promote peace and reconciliation.
The anti-Federalists were more skeptical of the broad pardon power, and their concerns appear in various writings, though they do not focus extensively on it. The pardon power could be abused by a corrupt or partisan president to shield allies or accomplices from prosecution.
They worried that this power might enable a president to obstruct justice by pardoning individuals involved in crimes, including those that could benefit the president personally. Further, Cato (likely George Clinton) and Brutus (likely either Melancton Smith, Robert Yates or perhaps John Williams) both saw this broad pardon power as monarchical and an abuse of executive authority. There was a definitive lack of checks on the President’s pardon power.
But what about the questioning of competency when a sitting president exercises such constitutional authority?
While U.S. courts have addressed various aspects of presidential authority and actions, they have generally refrained from directly questioning a sitting president’s mental competency.
The list of some of the sitting presidents who have faced competency questions include James Madison, Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and now, Joe Biden.
One of the significant checks comparable to many monarchs throughout history is competency affected by cognitive decline, such as George III of England, Charles VI of France and Caligula to name a few.
As Hamilton states, one person owning pardon power secures accountability, accountability implicitly implies being answerable.
Concerns about President Joe Biden’s competency have been raised in political and public discourse, particularly focusing on his age, verbal and physical incongruities. We as the public have witnessed a variety of verbal and physical gaffes, moments of confusion and other intelligible fog which have fueled our concerns over his cognitive decline.
A December 19, 2024, article by Diana Glebova begins by stating, “White House aides covered up President Biden’s apparent mental decline from Day 1 of his presidency shielding the aging commander-in-chief from the public and even rearranging his schedule after scatterbrained performances, an explosive report revealed Thursday.”
“The bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that White House aides hid President Joe Biden’s apparent mental decline from day 1 of the presidency. Aides kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more scripted. Private discussions with the President became less frequent and a voice coach was also hired.”, synopsis 12/19/2024 by The Economic Times.
A former CNN pundit has offered a mea culpa for shrugging off concerns about President Biden‘s mental decline.
Chris Cilizza, who served as CNN’s editor-at-large before leaving the network in 2022, spoke candidly about his lack of journalistic curiosity about Biden’s condition to serve following a pair of damning reports this week from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that shed light on the president’s diminished state.
“As a reporter, I have a confession to make,” Cillizza began his “apology” on his YouTube channel last Thursday. “I should have pushed harder earlier for more information about Joe Biden’s mental and physical well-being and any signs of decline.”
Today, those concerns take on new urgency. If a president’s cognitive decline affects the ability to exercise sound judgment, can the president responsibly wield the pardon power? Outside of Hamilton’s clear requirement for accountability and the anti-Federalists’ warning on monarchism, the Constitution’s framers did not foresee the intersection of such broad authority with potential mental incapacity, leaving Americans to grapple with these difficult questions.
As we consider the implications of President Biden’s unprecedented use of pardons and the potential of preemptive pardons, the public must reflect on the balance between constitutional authority and presidential competency.
Can a sitting president experiencing cognitive decline effectively carry out the responsibilities outlined in Article II, Section 2, which grants the President the authority to issue reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States?
History, legal precedent, and modern concerns all suggest this is a critical and unresolved issue.
Michael Tavoliero is a senior writer at Must Read Alaska.
I don’t think there has ever been a question about Biden’s mental competency. The end result has been that a bunch of children have been running the country for the last 4 years. Biden has been out of the loop.
And the real question is, who are the few hidden in the hundreds that prompted the pardons? Ones who could finger Joe and company or worse? We may never know but rest assured, magnanity and mercy had nothing to do with the pardons.
You seem to be under the impression that Biden is the one making these pardon decisions, and not his handlers.
If it can be shown that he did not have a grasp or did not ultimately provide the pardon then it is violation of the Constitution and they can be null and voided at SCOTUS. That is the reason I believe someone should challenge these and have them prove with out a reasonable doubt that he exercised the right which is only the Presidents and nobody else.
Clearly(!), JB has been mentally declined throughout his entire term in office. If you or I were in such a mentally declined state, specifically deemed mentally incompetent, I bet any and all legal actions (contracts, agreements, and/or formal decisions) could be challenged.
The real question we need to ask:
… “Are there rules – laws applicable to all or special rules – laws applicable to the Elites, many times this is coined ‘Rules for Thee but not for Me’ (ie: Two-Tier Legal System)?”
Bombshell report?
Half the country knew, with metaphysical certitude, that Biden was deep in the throes of dementia.
Why act surprised.
Half the population understands that half the population is deep in the throes of a global and federal govt psyop propaganda program.
If you believed in Covid.
If you took the experimental gene therapy.
If you believe in climate change as a threat to humanity.
If you believe in the transmania, especially mutilating the genitalia of minor children.
If you believe white supremacy and the KKK are the gravest threats to black people.
If you believe in the Ukraine war – that only if they have more arms and billions and billions of $ they can defeat Russia.
Biden is compromised.
We witnessed a coup of the presidency by the elites of the democratic party.
Kinda late to the party, OP.
The obvious and highly questionable legitimacy of JB’s presidency has only been made possible by the usurping of power not only by the left but the actor infiltrators on the right as well.. This installed stooge was nothing more than the Obama administrations puppet. The power to pardon isn’t a problem when the one who has the power is good.. it’s only a problem when the one who has it is evil.. or in this case a puppet of one that is evil..
Spoiled brat, turning loose all sorts of criminals because he lost…..vengeance is mine says the Lord, not the past president.
Maybe the real issue is, “Why wasn’t the 25th Amendment implemented?”. This was a total failure of the cabinet and VP Harris. Here is the process:
1. Vice president believes the president can no longer carry out the duties of his office.
2. A majority of the 15 cabinet members agree.
3. The VP and the cabinet write a letter stating their beliefs, the president loses power, and the VP becomes acting president. The letter is sent to the House Speaker and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
Once the letter is received, the Vice President then becomes the acting president. It would seem that VP Harris could have started the process and gotten 8 of the cabinet members to sign the document. Then acting President Kamala Harris could have run for president having already occupied the position.
Why did that not happen?
Maybe the Elite Cartel that was actually running the presidency feared that Kamala Harris was a liability and the public would then know that she was incapable of being a president. The Cartel was betting on Biden to win and knew that Kamala Harris was a loser.
What do you think? Why wasn’t the 25th Amendment implemented? What did the Left fear? Was it a failure of Vice President Harris and the cabinet to ensure America had a functioning leader?
David, why do you assume the leftist cabal puppet-masters wanted a real president rather than a puppet? Only a puppet would pardon thousands of criminals… he followed the dictates of the criminals controlling him. Do you not see the visible facts playing out in front of us?
Yet none of y’all question the competency of the Alzheimer’s in office when Nancy and her astrologer were running the country.
Then when y’all bootlicking MAGA’ts were getting what you wanted from that puppet regime it did not matter. If you don’t think Chump isn’t handled, you’re as deluded as you think Joe Biden may be….
Time for a Covid booster shot.
Anti Maga Man, I’d also hide behind a corny fake name if I spewed such low-resolution drivel. Pathetic.
Biden’s brain is so fried , he wouldn’t know a pardon from a pilgrim
Biden wasn’t starting from a towwring intellect before the dementia started.
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