Dems Believe Biden Family Pardons Will Make it ‘Harder to Criticize’ Trump Pardons, CNN Host Says
In an unprecedented move, then-President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to six family members on his final day in office, sparking widespread political debate and leaving Democrats grappling with the fallout.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt claimed the pardons—which included clemency for Biden’s brothers Frank and James, James’ wife Sara, his sister Valerie Owens, and her husband, John Owens—have caught many within Biden’s own party off guard.
During CNN’s coverage of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Hunt reported that Democrats were “flabbergasted” by Biden’s decision to grant clemency to his family members, a move they believe weakens their ability to critique Trump’s expected use of the pardon power.
“The Hunter Biden pardon, many of my sources felt, already made it easier, less politically painful for Donald Trump to pardon all of these January 6th rioters, to use that pardon power in a way that could hurt him,” Hunt said.
“Doing this with his own family at this 11th hour is clearly, at least in the minds of the Democrats I’m talking to, going to make it even harder to criticize Donald Trump for using the pardon power because of what Joe Biden did on his way out the door.”
The pardons, issued hours before Trump’s inauguration, were part of a broader clemency effort by Biden.
His statement unveiling the pardons characterized his family members as victims of “the worst kind of partisan politics,” citing investigations and legal challenges dating back to 2014.
Biden also extended preemptive pardons to high-profile figures such as former White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley and members of the Jan. 6 Committee, describing them as targets of “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”
The decision to pardon Hunter Biden had already drawn significant scrutiny.
Critics viewed it as a politically sensitive move, given the controversies surrounding Hunter’s business dealings and ongoing investigations during his father’s presidency.
Now, with the addition of preemptive pardons for other family members, Democrats are expressing concerns that Biden’s actions could undermine their credibility in opposing Trump’s clemency for Jan. 6 rioters.
TTOA has reported that during his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to pardon a significant number of Jan. 6 protesters.
At a May 2023 CNN town hall, Trump stated that he would grant clemency to a “large portion” of the protesters “very early on” in his second term.
CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali commented on the situation, noting that Biden’s pardons of Hunter and other family members could provide Trump with justification for his own planned clemency grants.
“The politics here are such that Biden’s actions, whether intentional or not, have set a precedent that Trump can point to,” Naftali explained, as outlined by Daily Caller.
The shock among Democrats stems from both the timing and the optics of Biden’s actions.
With Trump’s inauguration imminent, Biden’s clemency decisions are seen as potentially shielding Trump from political consequences for controversial pardons of his own.
According to Hunt, the pardons have left Democrats in a challenging position, as they fear the issue could neutralize one of their key criticisms of Trump.
“The politics here are such—and I’ve heard from a number of sources today—Democrats are quite frankly surprised, flabbergasted, blown away by the preemptive pardons of his family members that we saw come out at the very end,” Hunt said.
“This move is clearly, at least in the minds of the Democrats I’m talking to, going to make it even harder to criticize Donald Trump.”
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