The recent buzz around preemptive presidential pardons — especially considering President Joe Biden’s expansive pardon of his son Hunter — should alarm anyone who values justice and accountability.
This month, Biden pardoned Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing after pleading guilty to federal tax and gun charges. The president also granted his son clemency for any other federal crime “he committed or may have committed” over a 10-year span.
Now, Biden is reportedly mulling issuing similar preemptive pardons to current and former officials whom he believes President-elect Donald Trump may target in politically motivated prosecutions.
While the U.S. Constitution grants the president broad authority to pardon, using this power to shield political allies before they’ve even been charged with a crime twists it into a weapon of impunity, not a tool of justice.
The Founding Fathers understood the necessity of a pardon power, but they also feared its abuse. In Federalist No. 74, Alexander Hamilton defended pardons as a tool of mercy to correct judicial excesses, not a blank check for presidents to inoculate their allies or family members from accountability. President George Washington first demonstrated their value when he offered pardons to the leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion — in return for their renouncement of violent opposition to U.S. law. This act of mercy came after justice had been served.
Preemptive pardons, by definition, violate this principle. They allow a president to act as judge and jury — deciding not just who deserves clemency, but who should be beyond the reach of the law altogether.
The dangers of normalizing such behavior cannot be overstated. If presidents routinely issue preemptive pardons, it’s only a matter of time before every administration shields 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 pardons 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 isn’t to grant immunity. It’s 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 granting his son a preemptive pardon. That unprecedented move has tainted his legacy and raised serious concerns about fairness.
On the other hand, if Biden forgoes further presumptive pardons, he could help restore trust in government which is sorely lacking today, especially when so many ordinary folks think it is rigged to help only the politically connected.
Pardons should right specific wrongs — not preemptively rewrite history or shield allies from accountability. 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 wielded with care. If Biden proceeds with more presumptive pardons of his political cronies, he will betray that trust and further erode our citizens’ trust.
Mike Cox is a Republican who served as Michigan’s attorney general from 2003 to 2011. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print.
