Biden issues mass clemencies and says more may come before end of presidency – US politics live
President has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and issued pardons to 39 others in largest single-day act of clemency in US historyGood morning, US politics blog readers. Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and issued pardons to 39 others, a sweeping exercise of his presidential powers in his final weeks in the White House. The clemencies – the largest single-day act in US history – are targeted at people who have been serving their sentences in home confinement under the pandemic-era Cares Act, while the pardons are for people convicted of non-violent crimes who “have turned their lives around”, the White House said. It is typical for presidents to commute sentences and issue pardons as they complete their terms, but even though Biden is casting this as a historic act of mercy, his decision last week to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, casts a bit of a shadow over it. The younger Biden was facing sentencing over tax evasion and gun charges, but the president opted to pardon him, saying he had been unjustly prosecuted, and could be further harassed once Donald Trump takes office.When it comes to clemencies, Biden says he’s not finished, and may issue more in the weeks left in his term. We will let you know if we get any hint at who those might affect.Trump appointed Kari Lake, a Republican former candidate for governor and senator in Arizona, as director of Voice of America. VOA is a US-government supported global news agency, and Lake is best known nationally not just for her twin failed bids for office, but refusing to acknowledge her defeat in the governor’s race two years ago.Xi Jinping, China’s president, has been invited to Trump’s inauguration next month, CBS News reports. No Chinese leader has ever attended a US presidential inauguration, but many incoming Trump administration officials view China as a rival and national security threat.Time Magazine named Trump its “person of the year”. It’s his second time picking up the accolade, after first getting it in 2016. Continue reading...
President has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and issued pardons to 39 others in largest single-day act of clemency in US history
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and issued pardons to 39 others, a sweeping exercise of his presidential powers in his final weeks in the White House. The clemencies – the largest single-day act in US history – are targeted at people who have been serving their sentences in home confinement under the pandemic-era Cares Act, while the pardons are for people convicted of non-violent crimes who “have turned their lives around”, the White House said. It is typical for presidents to commute sentences and issue pardons as they complete their terms, but even though Biden is casting this as a historic act of mercy, his decision last week to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, casts a bit of a shadow over it. The younger Biden was facing sentencing over tax evasion and gun charges, but the president opted to pardon him, saying he had been unjustly prosecuted, and could be further harassed once Donald Trump takes office.
When it comes to clemencies, Biden says he’s not finished, and may issue more in the weeks left in his term. We will let you know if we get any hint at who those might affect.
Trump appointed Kari Lake, a Republican former candidate for governor and senator in Arizona, as director of Voice of America. VOA is a US-government supported global news agency, and Lake is best known nationally not just for her twin failed bids for office, but refusing to acknowledge her defeat in the governor’s race two years ago.
Xi Jinping, China’s president, has been invited to Trump’s inauguration next month, CBS News reports. No Chinese leader has ever attended a US presidential inauguration, but many incoming Trump administration officials view China as a rival and national security threat.
Time Magazine named Trump its “person of the year”. It’s his second time picking up the accolade, after first getting it in 2016. Continue reading...
