Biden mulls preemptive pardons for US officials in Trump’s firing line
Al Jazeera
Outgoing US administration fears revenge attacks against critics like former Republican legislator Liz Cheney.
US President Joe Biden is considering whether to issue blanket pardons for current and former public officials who risk being targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
The president has discussed the preemptive measure against potential revenge attacks with senior aides, but no decisions have yet been taken, according to sources who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies on Thursday.
The discussion picked up steam after Trump tapped Kash Patel, who has promised retribution against critics of the president-elect, for the role of FBI director, the notion gaining further currency when Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday.
The sources revealed that fearful former officials had reached out to the White House in a bid to avoid damaging and financially costly investigations, but aides worried that granting immunity in cases where no crimes had been committed could backfire, inviting claims of guilt from Trump and his allies.
The US Constitution gives a president broad pardon powers, but preemptive pardons for offences that have not yet been charged are largely untested.
