Just after Thanksgiving, President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, much to the dismay of too many idiotic elected Democrats and podbros. Most of us understood why President Biden pardoned Hunter, and most of us understood that the pardon was mostly about the incoming administration next year. The only surprising part, to me, was that Biden didn’t wait until January to issue the pardon, which is traditionally when lame-duck presidents issue their most controversial pardons, right as they’re about to leave office. As it turns out, Pres. Biden is making December the month of pardons and commutations. One of the criticisms was “why does Hunter get special treatment?” So Joe was like “you know what, I’m gonna pardon and commute 1500 people in one day.”
President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 convicted of nonviolent crimes, the largest grant of clemency by an American president in a single day, the White House announced in a statement on Thursday.
The commutations affect mostly those who had been released from prison and placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. The people who received pardons were convicted of nonviolent crimes, including possession of marijuana.
The announcement came two weeks after Mr. Biden issued a pardon for his son, Hunter, who had been convicted of gun possession and income tax evasion. That decision was harshly criticized by both Republicans and Democrats because Mr. Biden had long ruled out clemency for his son.
The White House said that the clemency announced on Thursday represented Mr. Biden’s commitment to “help reunite families, strengthen communities, and reintegrate individuals back into society.” Mr. Biden, the statement said, is the first president to issue categorical pardons to people convicted of simple use and possession of marijuana, as well as to former service members convicted of violating the military’s former laws against homosexual conduct.
In his statement on Thursday, Mr. Biden said that many of those people would have received lower sentences if they had been charged under current laws.
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the Covid pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” he said.
Mr. Biden said that he would take more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions. His staff has been debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a number of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s perceived enemies to protect them from the “retribution” Mr. Trump has threatened, people familiar with the discussion have said.
Wait… there were still military people in jail from the don’t-ask-don’t-tell era?? They were still people in prison for homosexual acts? That’s f–king wild. And yes, someone has needed to commute the sentences of nonviolent drug offenders for a long-ass time. We had people in prison for smoking joints or carrying a dime bag. Enough. I’m so pleased that Biden did this, and I hope there are even more pardons and commutations to come. I’m not sure if Biden should do blanket pardons for everyone on Trump’s enemies list, but if he does that, I’ll defend him? One thing I will not defend is James Clyburn’s suggestion that Biden should pardon Donald Trump.
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