The White House says President Biden is likely to issue more pardons but has not decided whether to issue blanket pardons for persons who could be targeted by President-elect Donald Trump.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday said Mr. Biden is evaluating pardons beyond the one that allowed his son, Hunter Biden, to avoid punishment on convictions for tax and gun offenses.
“The president is reviewing other pardons and commutations,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “Certainly there will be more to come. I’m not going to get into deliberations, private deliberations.”
Mr. Biden’s decision to pardon his son drew condemnation from both parties. Some Democrats said it set a poor precedent for future presidents, who might use pardon power to help their family and friends.
Mr. Biden and Ms. Jean-Pierre repeatedly had said Hunter Biden would not be pardoned.
Ms. Jean-Pierre said the president wrestled with the circumstances and feared GOP officials coming into power wouldn’t give up in their pursuit of Hunter Biden once they took office.
“There have been some circumstances that have changed this,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
She pointed to comments from Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat who said he encouraged Mr. Biden to pardon his son, and that Mr. Biden seemed reticent to do it at the time.
“This was not easy for the president,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
Congressional Democrats, including Mr. Clyburn and Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, have explicitly called on Mr. Biden to issue blanket pardons to people who might be viewed as enemies of the incoming administration.
Earlier Friday, Mr. Clyburn on CNN mentioned persons like former Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who broke with fellow Republicans and backed Vice President Kamala Harris over Mr. Trump. Ms. Cheney called Mr. Trump a danger to democracy.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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