President Joe Biden’s pardon decisions have come under a spotlight in the waning days of his presidency, but his openness to granting one unusual type of clemency has reignited legal debate.
Biden’s sweeping preemptive pardon for his son Hunter Biden and the president’s recent admissions that he is weighing similar pardons for some of President-elect Donald Trump’s top political adversaries, such as former Rep. Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci, have left some questioning if they are appropriate.
Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, told the Washington Examiner a president’s broad pardon authority does indeed extend to preemptive pardons but that they were not necessarily suitable for Cheney, Fauci, or other public figures who have attracted Trump’s wrath.
“Whether it’s the right thing to do or politically smart are…
