Their arguments are, of course, different in important respects. Trump contends that the two indictments against him by Biden’s Justice Department amounted to a partisan witch-hunt targeting the sitting president’s main rival.
Biden did not explicitly accuse the Justice Department of being biased against his family, but suggested that it was influenced by Republican politicians who have waged a long public campaign assailing Hunter Biden.
Donald Trump has indicated he will grant executive clemency to some as soon as he enters office, including Steve Bannon and the January 6 rioters. Credit: AP
As it happens, the Justice Department has rejected both accusations. The prosecutions of Trump and the younger Biden were each handled by separate special counsels appointed specifically to insulate the cases from politics, and senior department officials have denied that politics entered the equation against either man.
But Biden’s pardon will make it harder for Democrats to defend the integrity of the Justice Department and stand against Trump’s unapologetic plans to use it for political purposes even as he seeks to install Kash Patel, an adviser who has vowed to “come after” the president-elect’s enemies, as the next director of the FBI.
It will also be harder for Democrats to criticise Trump for his prolific use of the pardon power to absolve friends and allies, some of whom could have been witnesses against him in previous investigations.
Credit: Matt Golding
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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