Joe Biden, or at least his staffers, think they've really pulled a fast one on Donald Trump and the American people today. The White House announced this this morning that he preemptively pardoning several people, including Gen. Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, and the entire January 6 Committee.
This is not, however, the end of the story -- necessarily. Conservatives need not despair that Biden's gotten away with it. Rand Paul himself has said these pardons, at least in regards to Anthony Fauci, are just the beginning:
If there was ever any doubt as to who bears responsibility for the COVID pandemic, Biden’s pardon of Fauci forever seals the deal.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 20, 2025
As Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee I will not rest until the entire truth of the coverup is exposed.…
He's saying the right things. Let's see if he acts on them.
Today's actions by Biden do not necessarily mean that he has successfully covered up numerous criminalities by the Left; it's equally possible he just brought them to light and that Joe Biden just handed the GOP a treasure map that shows them where to start digging.
Will Republicans do the spade work?
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We'll start with the obvious. A pardon is, according to Burdick v. United States, accepting a pardon is a de facto admission that a crime has been committed:
Accepting a pardon is a de facto admission of the crime. There is legal precedent. U.S. Supreme Court case Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915).
— Crowdsource The Truth (@JG_CSTT) January 20, 2025
So while Joe Biden thinks he's protected these people from prosecution, they are only immunized for past crimes. They are still prosecutable for future ones committed in furtherance of a coverup, like perjury or obstruction of justice.
With these pardons, Biden is announcing that he agrees with Trumpworld's argument that it is possible to string someone up on bulls**t charges using government lawfare. Either that or he knows there was stuff there to prosecute.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) January 20, 2025
The pardons Biden issued today also strip them of Fifth Amendment protections if they are called to testify about those past crimes. You can no longer plead the Fifth if asked about crimes for which you can no longer be charged.
This means Congress should start hearings tomorrow, and everyone who received a pardon today should be compelled to testify. Crimes were committed: Joe Biden's pardons just admitted that. The American people need to know what those crimes were. And if those testifying happen to commit process crimes, like perjury, then they can still be held criminally accountable. Anthony Fauci has said he's grateful for the pardon, but that he's done nothing wrong. So let him testify to that under oath and nail him to the wall if he perjures himself.
The same applies to members of the January 6 Committee. Make them testify. Under oath.
Should any of the witnesses then provide evidence to suggest that they are in fact guilty of crimes, Congress should remove their sovereign immunity protections. This would open the door for civil suits. Because Donald Trump isn't the only victim here either of Anthony Fauci and the January 6 Committee. Mire them all in lawsuits for damages.
Mark Milley represents a special case. One would be hard pressed to find an individual with standing to sue him civilly. But there are still consequences that can be enforced against him. In addition to the 51 former intel officials who lied about Hunter Biden's laptop who will be stripped of security clearances once Trump takes office, Milley should be stripped of his security clearance and barred from working in the defense sector -- or any government (or government-adjacent) organization -- ever again.
Most important of all: before the hearings end Congress should call Joe Biden to testify. Under oath. In the full glare of live television.
Get him on the record and under oath, and -- as he hasn't pardoned himself -- hold him liable for the crimes he may have committed while President.
And if in the course of it he rambles or drools in a cup or talks about how his uncle was eaten by cannibals or shows himself to be the senility-racked embarrassment they've been trying to hide for his entire presidency, so much the better.
Because, as Biden himself has said repeatedly, no one is above the law. Not even the President.
Joe Biden is simply everything the press ever accused Donald Trump of being.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 20, 2025
It was all projection. https://t.co/n3oCgxmFla
He is everything he accused Donald Trump of being. Congress should make certain Americans know exactly who Joe Biden was and is.
But what the GOP cannot do is shrug and move on. They cannot post some angry tweets and walk away from this issue.
When George W. Bush took office in 2001, credible allegations were swirling that Bill Clinton was selling pardons and trading military technology for foreign campaign contributions. About to lead a country already deeply divided over his own contested election, Bush announced that he wanted to 'turn the page' on political turmoil and halted all further investigations into Clinton.
This well-intentioned (and we know what they say about good intentions) olive branch was misguided, and it set the stage for years of abuse and criminality by Democrats.
But in fairness to Clinton, he ended his presidency still insisting he did nothing wrong. In contrast, Joe Biden ended his by admitting illegalities left, right, and center. The GOP cannot make the same mistake that George W. Bush made. They must act, and they must act now.
For the last ten years, Democrats have told us Republicans are destroying Constitutional norms and the rule of law. If Republicans do not act in the wake of today's pardons, they will not only be complicit in Biden's lawlessness, they will have proven their accusers correct.
