Attorney Alan Dershowitz said Monday that former President Joe Biden put families at potential risk with the sweeping pardons he issued just before the end of his term.
On his final day in office, Biden granted preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, members of the House Select Committee on the January 6th attack on the Capitol, and their families. Dershowitz said on “The Dershaw” that the pardon protects Biden’s family from criminal charges, but if Congress issues a subpoena, Biden will have to comply with the Fifth Amendment. He said it also sacrificed his ability to defend himself. (Related: Flashback: What Democrats and Corporate Media Said Four Years Ago About Possible Preemptive Pardons from President Trump)
“President Biden did something before he left office that I thought he wouldn’t do. It was stupid for him to do it, but he did it. He pardoned his brother. ‘s relatives, and, you know, everyone associated with him who could be considered part of the Biden crime family,” Dershowitz said. “This comes after the president almost committed to pre-emptively pardoning all of these people who were going after them. One of the questions being asked is: Is pre-emptive pardon constitutional? I don’t know for sure.”
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“The pardon power is borrowed from the UK. It is unclear whether a pre-emptive pardon can be granted to someone who is not under investigation in the UK, but of course there is precedent. It has never been tested and it is a special President Ford pre-emptively pardoned President Nixon, who had not been charged with any crime, even though prosecutors were investigating him, and there was a possibility that he would be prosecuted. Showitz added. “So I think the law is pretty clear that the president can preemptively pardon. Should he have done that? That’s his prerogative.”
Biden announced a pardon for his son Hunter Biden. statement Biden said his son was “chosen.” The former president also said his “political opponents” were trying to “ruin” both him and his son in court.
Dershowitz also addressed former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois: vocal About not wanting a pardon.
“He certainly opens the door to President Trump to pardon anyone who he feels has been exposed to any kind of injustice or could be exposed to any kind of injustice. As a citizen, Adam Kinzinger also had no intention of accepting a pardon,” Dershowitz said. “Adam, go back and read the case. You have no choice. By law you can’t refuse a pardon. You can say you’re refusing it, but it has the same effect. No matter what you think or say, you can’t give up on that.”
“In 1911, Oliver Wendell Holmes ruled that pardons are a presidential prerogative and are not subject to the pardonee’s acceptance or refusal. So, Adam, you are pardoned, Whether you like it or not, you are forgiven, and so is everyone else,” Dershowitz said. (Related article: ‘There is no place in our legal system’: Alan Dershowitz says ‘unilateral’ report from Jack Smith ‘violates our core principles’)
Kinzinger and other members of the Jan. 6 committee accepted the pardon in a statement Monday.
“One of the reasons the president gave was that [for the pardons] He doesn’t want his relatives, friends, and other good people to incur the cost of a major investigation. Oh, you didn’t stop it. “Congress can still investigate all these people,” Dershowitz said.
“In fact, they have lost their Fifth Amendment privileges. So now, if Congress subpoenas them, they have to testify and cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment. So you can call your brother and everyone else before a Republican-controlled Senate committee or a House committee.”
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