by
Win
McNamee/Getty
Images)
Let’s
think
first
about
the
Biden
pardons;
after
that,
the
Trump
pardons.
I
understand,
if
I
don’t
necessarily
agree
with,
President
Biden’s
pardons
of
his
son,
Hunter;
the
January
6
Committee;
and
other
Biden
family
members.
When
first
asked,
Biden
shouldn’t
have
flatly
denied
any
intent
to
pardon
Hunter;
that
makes
Biden
a
liar.
Biden
should
instead
have
said,
before
Hunter
was
convicted,
that
the
elder
Biden
would
reserve
judgment
on
pardoning
Hunter
to
see
how
the
process
played
out.
After
Hunter
was
convicted,
the
president
should
have
said,
basically,
“I
love
my
son.
He’s
not
dangerous
or
a
threat
to
national
security.
I’m
the
president.
I’m
pardoning
Hunter.
I
know
that
you
may
criticize
me
for
this,
but
that’s
the
way
it
is.”
That
wouldn’t
have
made
the
pardon
any
more
correct,
but
I
think
Americans
generally
would
have
understood
the
sentiment.
I
also
understand,
if
I
don’t
necessarily
agree
with,
the
pardons
of
the
January
6
Committee
and
the
other
Biden
family
members.
None
of
these
people
had
been
charged
with,
let
alone
convicted
of,
any
crimes.
But
all
of
these
people
had
been
personally
threatened
by
Trump
and
folks
associated
with
Trump.
It’s
a
bit
unusual
(though
not
unprecedented;
think
of
Jimmy
Carter’s
pardon
of
Vietnam
War
draft
dodgers)
to
pardon
people
who
have
not
been
convicted
of
anything.
It’s
also
a
dangerous
precedent
to
have
presidents
start
pardoning
their
family
members;
I
wouldn’t
like
pardoning
all
the
relatives
to
become
routine
at
the
end
of
every
president’s
term.
But
I
understand
why
Biden
decided
to
do
this.
If
Trump’s
going
to
threaten
folks
who
have
not
been
indicted
or
charged,
then
Biden’s
going
to
protect
those
people.
(I’m
sure
that
I’ll
hear
from
some
Trump
loyalists
that
the
“Biden
crime
family”
is
all
guilty
as
sin.
That’s
why
I’ve
phrased
the
previous
paragraphs
carefully:
Other
than
Hunter,
none
of
Biden’s
relatives
have
been
charged
with,
or
convicted
of,
anything.
That’s
indisputable.)
Let’s
think
now
about
Trump’s
January
6
pardons.
Again,
I’m
certain
to
hear
from
Trump
loyalists
that
all
the
January
6
rioters
were
members
of
antifa,
FBI
informants,
or
tourists
simply
visiting
the
Capitol
Building.
But
remember
what
Republicans
—
Republicans
—
said
about
January
6
immediately
after
the
event.
The
Atlantic
recently
had
an
article
collecting
those
contemporaneous
Republican
reactions.
We
all
know
that
Mitch
McConnell,
Lindsey
Graham,
and
Kevin
McCarthy
blamed
Trump
on,
or
just
after,
January
6,
2021.
But
I’m
not
sure
I
knew
that
Elise
Stefanik,
soon
to
be
Trump’s
ambassador
to
the
United
Nations,
said,
“The
perpetrators
of
this
un-American
violence
and
destruction
must
be
prosecuted
to
the
fullest
extent
of
the
law.”
Doug
Burgum,
soon
to
be
Trump’s
Secretary
of
the
Interior,
said,
“The
violence
happening
at
our
nation’s
capital
is
reprehensible
and
does
not
represent
American
values,
and
needs
to
stop
immediately.”
In
fact,
I’d
forgotten
completely
that Trump
himself said
shortly
after
January
6
that “those
who
broke
the
law,
you
will
pay,”
and
Trump
later
vowed
that
“those
who
engaged
in
the
attacks
last
week
will
be
brought
to
justice.”
I
guess
Americans
really
do
have
the
memory
of
a
goldfish.
But
my
argument
starts
from
the
premise
that
there
was
violence
on
January
6
and
folks
who
engaged
in
that
violence
were
appropriately
tried
and
sentenced.
What’s
the
excuse
for
Trump
having
given
blanket
pardons
or
commutations
to
people
involved
in
the
January
6
riot?
That
the
rioters
didn’t
do
anything
wrong?
That’s
what
Trump’s
saying
now,
but
it’s
simply
not
true.
And
anyone
who
watched
TV
on
January
6,
or
listened
to
Republicans
at
the
time,
knows
that
Trump
and
his
supporters
are
now
lying.
Perhaps
it’s
OK
for
Trump
to
pardon
the
January
6
rioters
because
Biden
issued
some
pardons?
No.
Biden’s
pardons
were
only
marginally,
if
at
all,
misguided.
Biden
didn’t
release
dangerous
convicts.
Trump,
in
contrast,
gave
wholesale
pardons
and
commutations
to
nearly
1,600
people
who
had
been
charged,
convicted,
and
sentenced.
None
of
the
folks
convicted
in
the
January
6
riots
had
committed
violent
crimes?
According
to Lawfare,
these
are
the
statistics:
Of
the
total
1,583
arrested,
according
to
the
department’s
figures,
608
—
or
38
percent
—
were
charged
with
either
assaulting
or
impeding
federal
police
officers.
Of
those
that
assaulted
officers,
174
were
charged
with
an
enhanced
version
of
the
crime
for
using
deadly
or
dangerous
weapons
or
for
inflicting
bodily
harm
on
the
officer.
Some
folks
were
convicted
of
seditious
conspiracy
for
plotting
to
keep
President
Trump
in
power
and
amassing
weapons
for
that
purpose.
Sentences
ranged
up
to
22
years.
That
ain’t
beanbag.
Maybe
folks
sentenced
to
prison
for
their
conduct
on
January
6
had
already
suffered
enough?
Not
in
the
eyes
of
the
judges,
and
sentencing
guidelines,
which
said
that
some
of
these
criminals
should
have
spent
much,
much
longer
in
prison
than
they
did.
Maybe
the
Black
Lives
Matter
protestors
weren’t
prosecuted,
so
the
January
6
protestors
shouldn’t
have
been
prosecuted
either?
Be
serious.
First,
anyone
who
destroyed
property
or
injured
people
in
any
protest
should
be
prosecuted.
Black
Lives
Matter,
January
6
rioters,
whoever.
Get
real.
Second,
at
least
some
Black
Lives
Matter
protestors
were
prosecuted.
For
example,
prosecutors
brought
charges
including
arson,
assault,
and
felony
assault
for
the
riot
in
Portland,
Oregon.
Moreover,
neither
you
nor
I
know
exactly
what
happened
in
Portland
(or,
for
that
matter,
at
the
Capitol
Building).
We
don’t
know
precisely
how
serious
the
violence
was.
We
don’t
know
who
did
what
to
whom.
We
don’t
know
what
prosecutions
would
have
faced
evidentiary
problems
at
trial
—
although
it’s
likely
that
there
were
more
security
cameras,
broadcast
television
cameras,
and
personal
iPhone
cameras
at
the
Capitol
than
in
Portland,
which
probably
aided
the
prosecutions
of
those
who
invaded
the
Capitol.
Maybe
the
January
6
rioters
should
escape
punishment
because
you’ve
heard
stories
about
some
guy
in
Portland
or
Minneapolis
who
should
have
been
prosecuted
and
wasn’t?
You
have
no
clue
if
the
story
you
heard
was
true.
Even
if
it
were
true,
what
does
the
story
tell
us?
People
routinely
argue
that
“There
was
a
blizzard
yesterday,
so
climate
change
is
a
hoax,”
or
“I
heard
about
one
time
when
a
good
guy
with
a
gun
caught
an
escaping
criminal,
so
there’s
no
need
for
gun
control.”
If
you
think
that
these
sorts
of
anecdotes
constitute
argumentation,
you
need
a
lesson
in
logic.
Lastly,
think
of
the
timing
of
the
pardons.
Biden
issued
pardons
as
he
left
office,
which
is
the
usual
way
of
doing
these
things.
The
president
skulks
out
of
office,
no
longer
having
to
face
the
electorate,
and
he
does
some
crappy
stuff
as
he
leaves.
(Ask
Bill
Clinton
about
Marc
Rich.)
Those
who
were
pardoned
feel
lucky,
but
they
do
not
feel
empowered
to
commit
more
crimes
in
the
future.
The
criminals
don’t
know
if
they’d
be
pardoned
again,
by
a
different
president,
next
time.
Trump’s
pardons
were
different.
By
pardoning
the
January
6
rioters
on
his
first
day
in
office,
Trump
signaled
to
a
bunch
of
his
supporters,
which
included
white
supremacists
and
violent
criminals,
that
they’re
safe
for
the
next
four
years.
So
long
as
Trump
is
in
office,
folks
don’t
have
to
worry
about
engaging
in
violence
on
behalf
of
him.
(I’m
not
sure
that
Trump
will
pardon
folks
for
engaging
in
pro-Nazi
protests;
Trump
doesn’t
care
about
the
Nazis.
But
Trump
will
probably
pardon
you
for
engaging
in
pro-Trump
protests;
Trump
cares
about
Trump.)
Indeed,
even
the
conservative
Wall
Street
Journal recently
noted
that
those
Trump
pardoned
last
week
have
been reenergized
by
his
decision.
I
don’t
think
Hunter
Biden,
Liz
Cheney,
and
the
others
pardoned
by
Joe
Biden
pose
serious
threats
to
others.
But
those
pardoned
by
Trump?
The
next
four
years
will
tell.
Mark Herrmann spent
17
years
as
a
partner
at
a
leading
international
law
firm
and
later
oversaw
litigation,
compliance
and
employment
matters
at
a
large
international
company.
He
is
the
author
of The
Curmudgeon’s
Guide
to
Practicing
Law and Drug
and
Device
Product
Liability
Litigation
Strategy (affiliate
links).
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected].