Presidential Pardon Power: Don’t Mend It, End It

President Biden’s abuse of power in pardoning his son has sparked a debate we have every four or eight years.

Thanks to Hunter Biden’s need for clemency before the start of his sentencing next week — i.e., as I discussed on Monday, thanks to his and his father’s desire that he not become, formally, a convicted felon — we’ve gotten a jump on pardon season, which customarily happens during the Christmas holidays. And we’ve gotten a very early start of scandalous pardon season, which customarily happens at the very end of a term-limited or failed presidency, when the opposition party has won the election so the incumbent has no concerns about political repercussions — as a president would if his or her own party was poised to remain in power.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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President Biden’s abuse of power in pardoning his son has sparked a debate we have every four or eight years.

Thanks to Hunter Biden’s need for clemency before the start of his sentencing next week — i.e., as I discussed on Monday, thanks to his and his father’s desire that he not become, formally, a convicted felon — we’ve gotten a jump on pardon season, which customarily happens during the Christmas holidays. And we’ve gotten a very early start of scandalous pardon season, which customarily happens at the very end of a term-limited or failed presidency, when the opposition party has won the election so the incumbent has no concerns about political repercussions — as a president would if his or her own party was poised to remain in power.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.