ไบเดนใช้อำนาจพิเศษนิรโทษกรรมลูกชาย! - การอภัยโทษเครือญาติและพวกพ้องของผู้นำสหรัฐ
Summary
President Biden used the pardon power for his son over tax evasion and a false-statement gun purchase, after previously insisting he would not intervene in the justice process.
Pardoning relatives and allies did not start with Biden: three of the last four presidents have used the power the same way.
The presidential pardon dates from 1787 and was designed for national reconciliation, as Lincoln used it.
What has changed is the same power being used to help people close to the president, which erodes the legitimacy of the instrument itself.
Key points
The earlier promise makes it worse
The problem is not only the pardon but having publicly said he would not.
Not the first case and not one party
Three of the last four presidents pardoned relatives or associates.
The power is as old as the constitution
It dates from 1787 and has almost no check on it.
It was designed for reconciliation
Lincoln used it to close the wounds of the civil war.
Repetition normalises it
When every side does the same thing, criticism steadily loses force.