REPORT: Biden DOJ officials pushed back on last-minute pardons

We all remember Joe Biden walking out the door, issuing a slew of pardons and commutations. One batch was characterized as “non-violent offenders,” but that was not really the case.

A report is now surfacing that Biden DOJ officials were livid over the commutations, knowing full well there were violent offenders in the mix.

The pardons

Joe Biden has only a few days left in office when he decided to release pardons and commutations for nearly 2,500 criminals.

Biden characterized them all as non-violent offenders, and that is the key to this entire report.

FWD.us executive director Zoë Towns applauded the move, stating, “Too often, our criminal justice reforms only apply to the law going forward, leaving behind the very people and injustices that moved us to change.”

Republicans were livid when the order came through, and as it turns out, they were very much right to be upset about it.

Who approved them

When the autopen narrative was being pushed, Biden came out to say that nothing happened without his personal approval, and that included these pardons.

However, internal documents proved that it was not the case. Biden provided a framework, but it appeared that his chief of staff gave the final approval on the pardons and commutations.

This went against what Biden had told the media, having stated that he “made every decision.”

Biden claimed the autopen was only used to replicate his signature on the orders because “we’re talking about a lot of people.”

Doesn’t make sense

Associate Deputy Attorney General Brad Weinsheimer was among those unhappy with the narrative that was being pushed by the White House regarding this order.

In an email, he stated, “I think the language ‘offenses described to the Department of Justice’ in the warrant is highly problematic and in order to resolve its meaning appropriately, and consistent with the President’s intent, we will need a statement or direction from the President as to how to interpret the language.”

He further stated, “One other important note, in communication about the commutations, the White House has described those who received commutations as people convicted of non-violent drug offenses. I think you should stop saying that because it is untrue or at least misleading.”

In particular, Weinsheimer noted that there are nearly two dozen “highly problematic” individuals who were being granted clemency. What is even more worrisome is that he admitted they had not completely reviewed all the cases, so there could be more. I ask again, who was really calling the shots in the Biden administration?