The recent buzz around preventive presidential pardon – especially given President Joe Biden’s extended pardon of his son Hunter – should alarm anyone who values ​​justice and responsibility.


This month, Biden pardoned Hunter Biden, who was convicted after pleading guilty to federal tax and gun charges. The chairman also granted his son clemency for any other federal crime “which he has committed or may have committed” during a period of ten years.


Now Biden is is reportedly considering granting similar preventive pardons to current and former officials who he believes could be targeted by President-elect Donald Trump for politically motivated prosecutions.


Although the U.S. Constitution grants the president broad pardon power, using this power to protect political allies before they have even been accused of a crime makes this power a weapon of impunity, not a instrument of justice.



FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden, accompanied by Hunter Biden and Beau Jr., walks out of a bookstore in downtown Nantucket, Massachusetts, US, November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden, accompanied by Hunter Biden and Beau Jr., walks out of a bookstore in downtown Nantucket, Massachusetts, US, November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo



The Founding Fathers understood the need for a pardon power, but also feared its misuse. In Federalist #74Alexander Hamilton defended pardons as an instrument of mercy to correct judicial excesses, not as a blank check for presidents to shield their allies or family members from liability. President George Washington first demonstrated their value when he offered a pardon to the leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion – in exchange for their rejection of violent resistance to American law. This act of mercy came after justice had been served.


Preemptive pardons are by definition inconsistent with this principle. They allow a president to act as judge and jury, deciding not only who deserves clemency but also who should fall outside the reach of the law entirely.


The dangers of normalizing such behavior cannot be overstated. If presidents routinely issue preemptive pardons, it is only a matter of time before every administration protects its allies from future investigations. This would turn the presidency into a protective racket for the politically connected, undermining the core principle that no one is above the law.


Defenders of President Biden argue that his preemptive pardon may be necessary to prevent politically motivated prosecutions. But as someone who has prosecuted high-profile cases and defended victims of institutional abuse, I know that the answer to abuse in the justice system is not to grant immunity. It is transparency and impartiality at every level. Allowing presidents to declare their friends and family untouchable only fuels public cynicism about democracy and the rule of law.


Biden has already pushed the limits of his authority by preemptively pardoning his son. This unprecedented move has tarnished his legacy and raised serious fairness concerns.


On the other hand, if Biden refrains from further presumptive pardons, he could help restore trust in the government, which is sorely lacking today, especially when so many ordinary people think it is rigged to help only the politically connected .


Pardons should right specific wrongs—not preemptively rewrite history or shield allies from liability. If we normalize preemptive pardons, we risk unraveling the delicate balance of power that keeps our republic intact. The presidency is a trust – a trust that must be handled with care. If Biden moves forward with more presumptive pardons for his political cronies, he will betray that trust and further erode the trust of our citizens.


Mike Cox is a Republican who served as Michigan’s attorney general from 2003 to 2011. Send a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we can publish it online and in print.


This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Don’t justify Biden’s proposed preemptive pardon by blaming Trump



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