Summary
In his final hours as president, Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the Jan. 6 Committee, aiming to shield them from potential retaliation by the incoming Trump administration.
Trump has hinted at targeting those who opposed him or investigated his actions.
Biden stressed that the pardons do not imply wrongdoing but protect reputations and finances from politically motivated investigations.
This unprecedented move reflects concerns about threats to democracy under Trump’s return to power.
Watch him try and do it anyway, challenging the pardons in court saying pe-emptive pardons shouldn’t count, only to backtrack when he realizes it means it will make the blanket pardon he wrote for himself invalid too.
That’s not how this works if you’ve been paying attention to our legal system.
Don’t get me wrong…Trump absolutely will try to have these pardons challenged. But it’s not like the courts are just going to remind him that it won’t work for him either when he tries it. They’ll just wait until he does, then carve out a special exemption that applies only to Trump. That’s how the law works.
He’s likely trying to throw down as many speed bumps as possible. Individually, they won’t do much. Each will act as a distraction, a slight delay. Against most people in his position, they would be useless. Trump isn’t most people however. He will bite and get distracted by the chew toy. It’s likely about all Biden can do to limit the damage a little.
Shhhh don’t remind him about the last part. Have him challenge blanket pardons and then let us enjoy it being used against him.