In a move that has stirred up a lot of debate, President Joe Biden issued a batch of pardons just before his term ended. Among those pardoned were government officials who had been under threat of investigations from President Donald Trump’s team, and even members of Biden’s own family. The goal? To protect them from what many saw as unfounded criminal probes. However, the timing was not lost on anyone—these pardons came just hours before Trump was sworn in and immediately issued over 1,500 pardons himself. Most of Trump’s pardons were for people involved in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
While Biden’s pardons were somewhat understandable, they’ve sparked concern about the future of the justice system. After all, pardons are meant to be a safety net, but when they happen before anyone has been formally charged or investigated, it raises serious questions about fairness and the rule of law. The rule of law is simple: it’s the idea that everyone, no matter how powerful or wealthy, should be treated equally under the law. That means if someone breaks the law, they should face consequences—and no one should be able to escape punishment because of their status or connections.
What Biden’s preemptive pardons have done is set a worrying precedent. They suggest that powerful people, or even their families, can expect to be shielded from the legal process, even before it has a chance to play out. It’s a troubling message, even if Biden’s actions were a direct response to Trump’s own threats of legal retaliation. Biden’s goal was to protect his allies from what he feared could be baseless investigations. But in doing so, he may have undermined the very justice system that was meant to clear the air of any false allegations. By stepping in with pardons too soon, Biden prevented the courts from playing their role in publicly clearing these officials and his family.
The pardons for his family, in particular, have caused a stir. Some argue that they’re a clear conflict of interest and that they cast doubt on the innocence of Biden’s loved ones. If they’re innocent, why not let the courts decide? Instead, Biden’s actions left an open door for critics to claim that he was covering something up. While his intentions were no doubt to protect his family from what he saw as unjust threats, the long-term consequences of setting such a precedent could be damaging.
Biden’s pardons are, in many ways, unprecedented. No other president has given pardons to people who had not been under investigation or convicted of any crime. The idea of pardoning someone before they’ve been charged or even investigated is a new and uncharted move. And it’s a move that could easily be taken advantage of by future presidents with far less noble intentions.
Then there’s Trump’s own use of the pardon power. His pardons, especially for people involved in the January 6th Capitol attack, were far more concerning. By pardoning those who tried to overturn a fair election and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, Trump not only absolved people of serious crimes but also gave them a dangerous green light to continue using violence for political gain. This was not just about pardoning those who had been convicted—it was about wiping the slate clean for people who had been part of a violent, anti-democratic movement.
While some might argue that Trump’s pardons were justified, they were a serious blow to the rule of law. In the end, both Biden’s and Trump’s use of the pardon power have serious implications for the future. Biden’s well-intentioned but flawed decisions and Trump’s outright misuse of the power create a dangerous precedent for future presidents. It raises the real possibility of a future where the rich and powerful, along with their families and allies, are immune from the law, as long as they’re on the right side of the political divide.
If we enter an era where presidents can freely use pardons to protect themselves and their inner circles from legal consequences, we may be on the brink of losing something precious: the fairness and equality that are supposed to define the justice system in America. Biden’s actions and Trump’s pardons show just how easily the balance can tip away from justice and fairness, and it’s a trend that could be hard to reverse. For now, we’re left wondering what this new era of presidential clemency will mean for the future of the rule of law.
