As expected, Joe Biden handed out 10-year blanket pardons to his corrupt family, which had profited in the millions from influence-peddling schemes.
The venality is breathtaking.
The corruption is one thing. But pardons he gave government officials like Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, Bennie Thompson, Liz Cheney, and others have created an unprecedented moral hazard that will long outlive Biden.
Ponder the long-term consequences of blanket amnesty for political allies. It’s difficult to imagine anything could incentivize criminality and abuse of power more than knowing a president will simply give you a get-out-of-jail-free card at the end of a term.
Indeed, even if pardoning one’s allies doesn’t become a White House tradition, and it might, a president can simply intimate that forgiveness is coming, sanctioning his minions to abuse their office with…
