AVERAGE: Media attacked Trump for planning preemptive pardons in 2020 before Biden did four years later
In the final hours of his presidency, Joe Biden broke the norm by issuing preemptive pardons, something that legacy media has demonized President Trump after he allegedly offered them before leaving office in 2021.
Biden issued two rounds of pardons on Monday, hoping they would be overturned by the events of Trump’s inauguration day. The first round went to Trump critics like dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, as well as the leaders of the Jan. 6 Committee, former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. The second round, according to just minutes before Trump was sworn in, went to members of the Biden family, including James Biden’s siblings, Valerie Biden Owens and Francis Biden. The pardons came weeks after the former president broadly pardoned his son Hunter.
Meanwhile, Trump faced scorn from the media after it was reported that he was seeking preemptive pardons following his 2020 defeat.
December 1, 2020. The New York Times published the headline “Trump discussed with advisers about pardons for his 3 oldest children and Giuliani”, stating that the then president was considering a “preemptive pardon” for Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The report even states that Trump is considering issuing pardons “for crimes they haven’t yet committed — essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Ultimately, Trump never issued pardons for his grown children or for Giuliani, but other news outlets followed the Times’ lead.
The media pushed the narrative that President Trump was considering pardoning his children before he left office in January 2021. (Leigh Vogel/Polaris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If you had to make a 2020 time capsule ahead of time, this is probably something you would make up to put in a 2020 time capsule,” MSNBC star Rachel Maddow told viewers with a smile as she held up a copy of the Times report.
“The idea of some kind of future pardon, this kind of permanent federal get-out-of-jail-free ticket, that seems to be what we’re talking about in this case, right?” Maddow’s MSNBC colleague Chris Hayes said. “With Giuliani and his three oldest children, who, as far as we know, have not been convicted of a crime. Maybe they’ve done a lot and don’t want to face the action. I don’t know. It’s weird. I wouldn’t ask for a pardon, because I don’t think I’ve done anything criminal , but where does it come from?
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CNN published a similar report titled “Legal threats and headaches fueling pardon requests from Trump family and friends,” noting that “Trump’s three oldest children have faced various legal tangles” over the years, citing Don Jr. and Kushner’s involvement. to a Trump Tower meeting with Russians who claimed they had dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, which was being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Not even Don Jr. neither Kushner has ever been charged with any crimes by Mueller.
“In our political leadership now, a source tells CNN that President Trump, the outgoing president, is discussing preemptive pardons for people close to him. That could include his three oldest children, Ivanka Don Jr. and Eric, his son-in-law , Jared Kushner and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, none of whom have been charged with any crime as of this afternoon,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said on air.
“Is the president now considering pardons for members of the Trump family, including himself?” ABC News’ David Muir teased at the beginning of “World News Tonight.”
“Pardoning the president’s children? Why do President Trump and his top allies believe that Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr. and Eric may need what’s called a preemptive pardon,” Norah O’Donnell of the “CBS Evening News” told viewers.
Valerie Biden Owens and James Biden were among those who received a pardon from their brother, President Biden, just minutes before leaving office. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
NBC News ran the headline “President Trump discussed possibility of pardon for family members, sources say,” telling readers “One source said the talks in recent days were in the context of a president who feels threatened, not because Trump believes he or any member of his family has done anything illegal.”
The Peacock Network published a follow-up report asking “Can Trump pardon family members if they haven’t been charged with crimes?” to which it replied “undoubtedly yes”.
Washington Post columnist Philip Bump asked a similar question and answer: “How much protection can Trump offer his family with his pardon power? A lot.”
“There is not much risk for Trump in trying to grant such a blanket pardon. He could issue a sweeping pardon — say, give Jared Kushner a pass for all federal crimes committed from the time of his birth to the time of the pardon — with the understanding that if anyone wanted to criminally prosecute Kushner, have to convince the court to let him,” Bump wrote. “Maybe they could do it, especially if the pardon is as vague as the one just mentioned. But, from Trump’s perspective, what’s the harm in trying? Especially since there’s no accountability mechanism to stop Trump from doing it.”
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NPR also explored Trump’s legal powers with a story titled “The story of Trump’s ‘preemptive’ pardons raises questions: What can he do?” with a picture of Don Jr. at the top.
Vanity Fair was far more presumptive, with the headline “Of course Trump will pardon Jared, Ivanka, and maybe even Don Jr.”
The liberal news blog Slate even speculated that Trump pardoning his children could “make him a bigger criminal target,” writing “If Trump distributed such broadly worded pardons liberally among his circle, he would subject them all to subpoenas to testify about not only their behavior , but his.”
President Biden sparked outrage for issuing a pardon for his son Hunter after repeatedly promising not to do so. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA)
MSNBC and CNN went wall-to-wall praising the story, even reaching out to then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was just elected senator, to hit the president.
“Have you ever heard of someone who got a preemptive pardon who was innocent of all crimes, who is just an innocent person? Have you ever heard of that, just someone who got a general pardon and is an innocent person?” asked MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
“No,” Schiff replied. “It’s the president’s own family. It’s the people who covered the president, except for his own family.”
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“Would you take that…as essentially an admission of guilt?” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked in a separate interview.
“I would certainly look at it that way,” Schiff told Blitzer. “I think millions of Americans would see it that way. If there is no belief in crime, why would you think a pardon is necessary?”
After winning the 2020 election, Biden was asked about Trump’s preemptive pardons during a conversation with CNN’s Tapper.
“Well, I’m concerned about the precedent it sets and how the rest of the world views us as a nation of law and justice,” Biden told Tapper, later adding “you won’t see that in our administration’s approach to pardons.”
