Many have had questions about the validity of pardons issued by former President Joe Biden in the waning days of his term. It was clear -- going back to 2020 -- that Biden's lights were on, but nobody was home, and the Constitution is very clear: the power for pardons lies with the President and the President alone.
So was Biden aware of these pardons? Did he approve them? If not, that opens up a rather sticky wicket.
It seems that some former high-ranking officials are trying to get ahead of this story blowing up in their faces, and Alex Thompson (one of the countless journalists who ignored Biden's cognitive issues right up until he could write a book about it) of Axios is helping them engage in some major CYA:
Scoop: High-ranking Biden admin officials repeatedly questioned and criticized how the president's team decided on controversial pardons and allowed the frequent use of an autopen to sign measures late in his term, internal emails obtained by Axios show.https://t.co/Eq075rKC9n
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 6, 2025
High-ranking Biden administration officials repeatedly questioned and criticized how the president's team decided on controversial pardons and allowed the frequent use of an autopen to sign measures late in his term, internal emails obtained by Axios show.
Why it matters: The messages are the latest signs of the chaos surrounding the 82-year-old former president during the final weeks of his administration, in two areas that are now being investigated by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.
- President Trump has cited Biden's process in issuing pardons to try to justify many of his own controversial pardons or commutations on behalf of donor-connected supporters and others who were imprisoned for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
How it happened: After the political backlash to President Biden pardoning his son Hunter last Dec. 1, the White House began pushing to find more people to grant clemency to, according to people familiar with the internal dynamics.
- "There was a mad dash to find groups of people that he could then pardon — and then they largely didn't run it by the Justice Department to vet them," a person familiar with the process told Axios.
- Biden granted clemency to more people than any president in U.S. history — 4,245 people. More than 95% of those actions occurred in the final 3½ months of his presidency, according to Pew Research.
- Many of those actions, including pardoning other members of his family on his last day in office, were signed using an autopen — a computerized version of the president's signature that didn't require him to physically sign the document.
Perhaps they should've thought about this before propping up President Roomba.
The most heinous happened with in the broad parameters the Biden admin used granting the nearly 1,500 clemency requests that included the one in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he granted clemency to Michael Conahan, a former judge who was convicted in the "Kids-for-Cash" scandal.
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) September 6, 2025
That was absolutely heinous.
What the f**k is the point of journalism if it only brings these stories to light after the damage has been done and there's no accountability to be had?
— God's Whale Facts Decider Cow (@inane_gimmick) September 6, 2025
Excellent question.
We don't have journalists. We have propagandists and stenographers for the DNC.
Weird how nobody looked into this for 4 years. You took 4 years vacation
— Scott Harnett 🇺🇸 (@ScottHarnett_) September 6, 2025
So weird.
* only the president decides on a pardon.
— live free or die (@OldGoldHawkeye) September 6, 2025
And it seems lots of other people decided on pardons because Biden couldn't.
Every time you hear democrats demanding stricter gun laws, remember that the last Democrat president pardoned his son for breaking already-extant gun laws 🤣
— Rufus Firefly (@RufusFirefly24) September 6, 2025
That's (D)ifferent.
I'm shocked, shocked that President Dementia Patient's last-minute pardons might not be the sterling examples of the constitutional process at work his apologists and toadies have claimed they were. https://t.co/DT0AUTHkHB
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) September 6, 2025
Totally shocked.
NOT.
A President granting clemency to a person who plead guilty to murdering a 2 year old is bad. Someone granting the same clemency in the President’s name without the President being aware of it is a crime. Why is this person not facing charges? https://t.co/ctFaMp8PXY
— Jay Parker (@Soob) September 6, 2025
We all know why.
This is why the “Trump is old decrepit and probably dying lol” attacks don’t land.
— Michael Watson (@MichaelWatsonDC) September 6, 2025
We can, using our eyeballs, see that Trump is in better condition today than Biden was in May 2024, when the same people said Our Democracy™️ depended on giving Biden four more years. https://t.co/XebarwCadp
Bingo.
Strictly in private, though. God forbid their 'concerns' got out and led to public pressure to stop the abuses. https://t.co/UzjUo9FqDp
— LoLNothingMatters (@DastDn) September 6, 2025
They didn't want to stop the pardons.
Biden’s Chief of Staff’s assistant sent an email out through the Chief of Staff’s account. in his voice, authorizing pardons signed by auto pen. Biden, meanwhile, had a restful night’s sleep. But, hey, Donald Trump mean tweets so we gotta do what we gotta do. https://t.co/hxos3SIrPA
— Matt Dole (@mattdole) September 6, 2025
Priorities, and all that.
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