Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said Sunday that she’s “not a fan” of preemptive pardons that President Joe Biden is reportedly weighing to issue before he leaves office in January.
Politico and NBC News reported last week that Biden is considering issuing preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump, including Democratic Senator-elect Adam Schiff of California, Dr. Anthony Fauci and former GOP Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Trump has repeatedly suggested some of his prominent critics should face investigations and be jailed, spurring fears that his Justice Department may follow through on his threats.
A preemptive pardon is a pardon that is granted before any formal legal proceedings against the individual have begun. This compares to the more traditional form of pardons, which are issued during legal proceedings, or after a conviction.
Klobuchar pushed back on the idea in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday. She also criticized Biden’s controversial decision to issue a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.
“I am not a fan of these [preemptive pardons],” the senator said. “I didn’t like the pardon of the president’s son. I didn’t think that that was prudent. But I also am very concerned about this idea of the preemptive pardons.”
Although she said she is “very concerned” about Trump’s incoming Justice Department, Klobuchar added that Schiff specifically had told her he does not want a preemptive pardon.
“He believes that this is a nation of laws and that there are judges that make decisions all the time, including during the last Trump administration, including Republican appointees from many different administrations, who did the right thing in many cases under the law,” the Minnesota Democrat said.
Last month, Schiff told NPR about preemptive pardons: “I would urge the president not to do that. I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and Trump’s transition team on Sunday via email for comment.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press that aired on Sunday, Trump reiterated that he believes some of his political opponents should be jailed. He specifically mentioned Cheney, as well as other members of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Biden’s decision to pardon his son after previously saying that he wouldn’t has already drawn criticism from leading Democratic lawmakers, although some have defended the decision as well.
Hunter was due to be sentenced in December in his two criminal cases involving federal tax fraud and a gun charge. He was facing up to 25 years in prison as he was found guilty on three felony charges.
“If I have to have a bias in this area, it’s a loving parent who wants to protect his child,” Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told CNN on Sunday, defending the president’s controversial decision.
Other Biden defenders have pointed out that Trump issued a number of pardons for prominent allies, including the father of his son-in-law and key White House adviser Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, was also announced at the end of November as Trump’s pick to be U.S. ambassador to France.
