Biden takes into account pardoning Trump
Date
1/21/2025 6:41:02 AM
(MENAFN) Outgoing President Joe Biden reportedly considered pardoning his successor, Donald Trump, before leaving office, according to NBC News, which cited an anonymous White House source. Trump, facing multiple federal charges from Biden’s Department of Justice, had called these charges Politically motivated and aimed at preventing his return to office.
Biden is said to have "privately mused" about pardoning trump after the 2024 election, viewing it as a "magnanimous move," according to a source familiar with his thoughts. However, a White House official later denied that this was ever seriously discussed.
Trump’s legal battles intensified following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July on presidential immunity, which made federal charges against him more difficult to pursue. In November, Trump secured a win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden had previously pledged to serve only one term, intending to pass the presidency to Harris. However, after Trump survived an assassination attempt in July, Biden was pressured to reconsider his stance, eventually endorsing Harris as his successor. As Biden prepares to leave office, NBC reports that his tenure has left the nation divided and his party in disarray.
On Friday, Biden commuted the sentences of 2,500 drug offenders, arguing that their sentences were overly long. Biden has now issued more pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history. The most contentious of these was a pardon granted to his son, Hunter, who was convicted last year of federal gun and tax violations. The pardon extended to offenses committed from 2014 to 2024, which also covered Hunter’s time on the board of Ukrainian company Burisma. Republicans have accused Hunter of profiting from his father’s position by selling access while Biden served as vice president.
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