President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon members of his family in the final moments of his administration tarnishes his reputation and is “a stain on his legacy,” CNN reporters and anchors said on Monday.
“Well, it turns out, Anderson, yet another promise was broken. That’s exactly how he ultimately decided to turn to the justice system. This decision would raise so many alarming questions about legal precedence that now this This is actually one of President Biden’s final actions as a sitting president,” said CNN’s MJ Lee, noting that Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in December 2020 that the United States would not watch the to preemptive pardon.
The White House announced at Trump’s inauguration that Biden’s pardons apply to James Biden, Sarah Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John Owens and Francis Biden. The now-former president has argued that his family could be subject to “politically motivated investigations” after he leaves office.
Lee said in a statement earlier that this was another way for the former president to tarnish his legacy.
President Trump calls Biden’s last-minute pardon at signing ceremony ‘unfortunate’
President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (Susan Walsh/AP)
CNN commentator and “The View” co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffin said during the discussion that pardons for family members are better than his last-minute pardons for Liz Cheney, General Mark Milley and Anthony Ford. Qi’s pardon was “even more confusing.”
“It’s just disgraceful,” CNN host John King said. “If you’re going to do it, have the courage to do it in broad daylight and explain it to the American people. That’s it. It’s a stain on his legacy. We can argue, can’t we? “Was it necessary that Donald Trump promised revenge?” .
Former Obama aide David Axelrod said the timing of the pardon looked suspicious.
“The fact is, Trump has been saying this for a long time. It doesn’t explain why in the last 10 minutes of your presidency you would issue a press release, which just makes the whole thing look tacky,” Ah. Keselrod said.
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David Axelrod speaking on CNN on January 20, 2025. (Screenshot/CNN)
In December 2020, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden if he was concerned about rumors that a newly defeated Trump would hand out a wave of preemptive pardons to some of his closest confidants.
“Well, my concern is what kind of precedent does this set for how the rest of the world views us as a nation of law and justice,” he said at the time.
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“You’re not going to see this approach to pardons in our government,” Biden added. “You’re not going to see this approach to policy in our government through tweets. You know, that’s going to be how we deal with it. A completely different approach to the justice system.”
Fox News’ Nicholas Lanum and Anders Hagström contributed to this report.
