Biden Leaves Some of Trump’s Biggest Enemies Out in the Cold With Pardon List
The new president often talks about getting revenge on his foes. Why did Joe Biden leave them out?
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Joe Biden left some of Donald Trump’s biggest enemies off of his pardon list.
The new president often talks about getting revenge on his foes—and has called for many to be arrested after they have crossed him.
Left out of Biden’s saving grace include Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and the judges who handled Trump’s civil and criminal cases.
But one of the most notable adversaries who didn’t get a preemptive pardon may be former special counsel Jack Smith, who pushed a Department of Justice investigation against Trump.
Smith’s report, which was partially released this month after the president’s legal team tried to block it, would have convicted Trump if he did not win re-election. The prosecutor resigned after he submitted the case against Trump, although the president has said he would’ve fired him regardless.
Trump has attacked Smith for years, calling him mentally deranged, saying he should be kicked out of the country, and sharing posts calling for his prosecution.
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The new president has also called Justice Juan Merchan, who handled his hush money case, corrupt, and said Justice Arthur Engoron, a New York state judge who presided over a civil business fraud case against him, should be “arrested.”
In the final day of his presidency, Biden gave sweeping pardons to certain public figures he believed Trump would go after, including Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley, and the House’s Jan. 6 investigation committee.
In his presidency’s final minutes, Biden also pardoned his own family: Hunter Biden, James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said. “Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
Although none of the people left off the pardon list have asked publicly for a pardon, they have proved to be some of Trump’s biggest adversaries. Only time will tell if he plans to seek retribution.
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