Letter to the editor: Recent pardons signal trouble ahead
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On Jan. 20, two presidents set a troubling precedent by each issuing broad pardons in the span of a few hours.
President Biden preemptively pardoned family members and government officials to prevent hypothetical future prosecution.
In a much more troubling move, President Trump pardoned over 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including many violent offenders, signaling that under his administration, ideological loyalty takes priority of the verdicts of juries.
Every president has issued pardons, often controversially, but these recent announcements make it easy to envision a new era in which future presidents are increasingly willing to issue sweeping pardons for their allies, completely circumventing the role of the judicial system. This opens the door for bad actors both within and outside the government to act with impunity without fear of repercussions for criminal behavior. If criticized for the pardons, a president could simply refer to prior presidents’ similar actions or make vague claims about political persecution.
It is critical that future presidents restore the confidence of the American people by avoiding unwarranted pardons and trusting our justice system to do its job fairly.
Christopher Bailey
McCandless