CNN journalist Jake Tapper is sparking interest by suggesting that there could be a chance that former President Joe Biden granted a pardon that hasn’t been disclosed to the public.
Tapper brought up this topic in a conversation with Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for the New York Times, on CNN’s “The Lead.” During the discussion, Tapper played a clip from a previous segment where President Trump mentioned to Fox News host Sean Hannity that Biden did not grant himself a pardon, causing concern among some individuals.
Haberman mentioned that Trump is not the only one dissatisfied with Biden’s recent pardons. She shared that she had spoken with some “former Biden officials” who were displeased with the pardons, particularly those that were given as a precaution for individuals who have not faced any charges yet and others that were backdated to cover potential past offenses.
Haberman replied, “That’s true. That’s true.”
“I mean, so it’s possible Joe Biden pardoned himself, and we just don’t know about it,” Tapper said, while concluding the segment. “Who knows? Joe Biden set a lot of precedents on his way out the door.”
Trump focused attention on the issue when, during his mid-week “Hannity” interview, he appeared to suggest his predecessor may have left himself vulnerable to investigation or prosecution based on his actions.
“And if you look at it, it all had to do with him,” Trump mused.
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The odds that Biden issued a secret pardon to himself after giving his other family members pardons quite publicly in the days before he left the White House seem slim to none. Biden doesn’t have 4-D chess moves in him like that.
Tapper also correctly pointed out that the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity offers him the same protections that Trump has been granted.
That said, here are a couple of interesting points. Haberman suggested that Trump isn’t referencing any actions taken by Biden as president but rather, some of his alleged nefarious activity prior to becoming the 46th president.
“Trump seemed to be, unless I was misunderstanding him, talking about activities that were taken before Biden was in office,” she surmised.
Hence, the preemptive pardons on a “full and unconditional” basis for his family members – James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden – backdated to 2014.
Additionally, Tapper’s assertion that a president can issue a non-public pardon has been speculated on previously, when the media was ranting and raving that Trump might do so for himself.
“Trump can pardon himself & his family and keep that secret until they are charged with federal crimes,” posited MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell in 2021.
That never happened.
As for precedent, late President Ronald Reagan issued pardons for two former FBI officials in March of 1981 that didn’t become public immediately. Reagan had issued those pardons just days before he became the victim of an assassination attempt, but the White House at the time did not offer a reason as to why they weren’t made public until mid-April.
Again, it seems far-fetched that Biden would pardon himself and then keep it secret. Biden pardoning himself and then forgetting he had done so altogether, however? Now that’s possible.
