Biden's preemptive pardons

[WestMichRad]

2. I think these are a really bad idea.

As I noted in a reply to a recent post (that I suspect was seen by few), there are at least a few reasons why they are a bad idea.

First , a pardon is essentially a legal forgiveness of guilt, and presumably these intended recipients aren’t actually guilty of committing crimes. The intention here is to indemnify them from prosecution.

A “preemptive pardon” is untrodden legal ground, AFAIK. We don’t know how courts will treat them. Will courts actually recognize them as legitimate to protect the prospective defendant from prosecution?

Perhaps my biggest concern with the idea of preemptive pardons is that, if upheld by courts, it will be used indiscriminately in the future. We all expect the next administration will be quite gifted at both criming and coverups, and if our democracy isn’t totally tanked by these bozos (I’m still hopeful for our future!), preemptive pardons would be widely issued and prevent any accountability for their misdeeds.

But I suppose if y’all are convinced that our system of government is about to crumble, then preemptive pardons are a great idea and should be widely issued. That’s a pretty sad statement about where we are mentally these days.