Some Senate Democrats are frustrated with former President Joe Biden over one of his final acts in office, which they worry may have expanded the use of presidential pardons too much.
In granting preemptive pardons Monday to five more members of his family and some of President Donald Trump’s frequent political targets, Biden took the unusual step of issuing pardons to people who have not been convicted of a crime. Democrats say they’re concerned about the precedent he’s set for future presidents, including Trump in his second term.
“I disagree with President Biden’s use of his pardon authority. It’s pretty baffling to apply it so broadly, not just to his family but to others who could be charged,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told NOTUS.
He said that Biden has “dangerously expanded the use of pardons in a way that could be unfortunate in the future.”
Trump’s “obsession” with targeting political opponents poses a “unique” threat to the Biden family, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told NOTUS. But Murphy said he is open to a conversation about pardon reform.
“I have sympathy for President Biden, but I don’t know that the extent of the pardons he granted was necessary,” Murphy said. “I don’t think any of us can be satisfied with the way that Trump or Biden use the pardon authority.”
Biden included his three siblings and their spouses in a list of preemptive pardons issued as Trump was about to give his inaugural address. Earlier on Monday, Biden also issued a slate of preemptive pardons to people including Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who were part of the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, noting that the “issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
In December, Biden pardoned his son Hunter before he was sentenced for federal gun charges after repeatedly saying he would not pardon him.
Biden said in a statement Monday that he was issuing the pardons due to “unrelenting attacks and threats” toward his family, and he had no reason to believe the attacks would end. In 2020, Biden told CNN he was concerned with “what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice” when asked about the prospect of preemptive pardons for Trump’s family members.
CNN reported that Sen. Adam Schiff, who served on the Jan. 6 House committee, was surprised by the preemptive pardons to members of the committee and said he did not think they were “necessary.” The outlet also reported that Sen. Ruben Gallego said the preemptive pardons “played into” Trump’s desire to pardon J6ers.
Not all senators were critical of Biden’s decision to make those last-minute pardons. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester deferred to Biden’s statement when asked about them.
“I think the president probably put on record what he said and what he meant when he did it,” she told NOTUS.
Biden’s preemptive pardons did not escape Trump’s attention on Inauguration Day.
“I think it was unfortunate that [Biden] did that,” Trump told reporters in the Capitol. “We won’t discuss it now. There’s plenty of time to discuss it.”
Sen. Andy Kim told NOTUS he’s frustrated with Biden’s use of pardons, and he thinks Americans can feel a sense of unfairness.
“You know what it feels like?” Kim said. “It feels like politics is some exclusive club, you know, and like those that are in it just have a different experience and different opportunities available to them.”
It was clear that Democratic senators were already thinking about what this could mean moving forward.
“I just really don’t want this to become the norm,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin told NOTUS.
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Helen Huiskes and Em Luetkemeyer are NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows.