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‘Wrong is wrong’: Mass. delegation responds to Biden pardon
"When you’re the Commander in Chief there is something higher at stake.”
Members of the Massachusetts delegation are raising concerns about the consequences of President Joe Biden‘s decision to pardon his son Hunter, flagging potential roadblocks to challenging Trump and his administration come January.
Biden Pardon:
Despite previous pledges not to, Biden granted his son clemency on Sunday night, covering over a decade of any federal crimes he might have committed.
Biden’s move, which came a day after he returned to the White House from his family’s annual Thanksgiving trip to Nantucket, shields his son from a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.
The president’s sweeping pardon has been met with criticism from both sides of the aisle, as some frustrated Democrats say the pardon sets a bad precedent.
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“Wrong is wrong,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement to Boston.com. “One of the core principles of the American legal system is equal justice under the law — that means no special exceptions for presidents, former presidents, or family members of presidents.”
Other Massachusetts delegates worry the pardon could cause issues for Democrats when Trump reassumes office.
“I empathize with President Biden’s decision to take a political hit for the sake of his son,” Rep. Seth Moulton said in a statement to Boston.com. “But when you’re the Commander in Chief there is something higher at stake.”
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Moulton continued: “My concern is that President-elect Trump and his cronies will, in the future, point to this decision to try to justify egregious abuse of our justice system, which appears to be an explicit goal of his second administration. That is the true danger here.”
In a similar vein, District 4 Rep. Jake Auchincloss warned the pardon could impede Democrats’ ability to challenge Trump.
“The President’s pardon of his son will make it more challenging for Democrats to counter the impending nepotism, corruption, and anti-gun safety actions of the second Trump Administration,” Auchincloss said in a statement.
Sen. Ed Markey said he believes the charges against Hunter Biden were politically motivated, NBC10 Boston reported.
“He was only prosecuted by the efforts of his father’s political enemies to harm the reelection efforts of Joe Biden,” Markey said.
In a statement to Boston.com, Markey said he hopes Biden will use his pardoning power concerning mass incarceration.
“I hope President Biden will use his clemency power more broadly, to address the problem of mass incarceration in the United States and help groups of people worthy of lenience, such as those serving sentences with unjustified disparities and others treated unfairly and unjustly under Draconian laws and sentences imposed in the failed war on drugs,” Markey said. “President Biden still has time to do so, and he should.”
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Rep. Ayanna Pressley also used the pardon as an opportunity to put increased pressure on Biden to address mass incarceration in the final months of his presidency.
“I implore the President to consider pardons for those in federal custody with unjustified sentencing disparities, the elderly and chronically ill, people on death row, women punished for crimes of their abusers, and many, many more,” the District 7 representative said in a statement.
Pressley said the issue is “deeply personal” to her.
“As the daughter of a formerly incarcerated parent who has gone on to make great contributions to society, I know firsthand how life-changing the President’s action would be and how much hope it would give to millions who call America home,” she said. “President Biden has an opportunity to cement his legacy as one of the most compassionate and impactful Presidents of our time. For the families harmed by mass incarceration, he must act.”
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale, meanwhile, called Biden’s pardon a “glaring double standard.”
“You cannot claim to uphold justice and the rule of law while twisting it to serve your personal interests,” Carnevale said in a statement. “This is hypocrisy at its worst, and further shows the Democrats don’t live up to their own standards.”
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