Source: Orange County Register
by Rafael Perez
“There is an interesting question about whether preemptive pardons are allowed under Article II of the Constitution but we’ll set that aside. President Gerald Ford set a precedent with his preemptive pardon of Richard Nixon but the Supreme Court has demonstrated many times that precedents are not decisive. Biden would not only be following in the footsteps of the man who he has criticized the most, but would also be lowering the bar even further for what we can expect to see presidents do. Recall the blatant abuse of the pardon that Donald Trump demonstrated in his first term. Incredibly, Trump managed to suppress whatever little integrity or decency he had left to pardon everyone from war criminals to the minions he ordered to commit crimes on his behalf.” (01/16/25)