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President Biden Should Pardon Trump
It’s the kind — and strategic — thing to do.
Assuming Joe Biden becomes the next president, and assuming a lame-duck Donald Trump does not pardon himself — a dubious move — or resign and let Mike Pence pardon him — a weaselly move — Biden should do the deed himself.
Biden should pardon Trump.
He said before that he wouldn’t. Back in May, during a virtual town hall, Biden was asked whether he would be willing to commit “to not pulling a President Ford” — i.e., to not pardoning his villainous predecessor the way President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon (an act that many scholars believe doomed Ford’s reelection in 1976).
“Absolutely, yes,” Biden replied. “It’s hands-off completely. Look, the attorney general of the United States is not the president’s lawyer. It’s the people’s lawyer.”
By this, Biden meant that he would let his Department of Justice make its own decisions on charging Trump or any other suspect with a crime. It’s the sort of independence Trump denied his own DOJ throughout his presidency. In any other instance, I would praise Biden for such a stance.
In this case, however, he should reconsider.
Since he entered the presidential race, Biden’s message has been one of unity. He returned…
