Biden’s largest single-day act of clemency; Trump crowned Time’s person of the year

Washington: US President Joe Biden is commuting the prison sentences of almost 1500 people and pardoning another 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes in the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

As he prepares to make way for Donald Trump in the White House next month, Biden and his top aides are also reportedly discussing whether to grant pre-emptive pardons to people who might face political revenge under the incoming administration, such as outspoken anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney or former COVID tsar Anthony Fauci, who co-ordinated the administration’s response to the pandemic.

US President Joe Biden’s announcement came a week after he sparked an angry backlash within his own ranks by pardoning his son Hunter.Credit: Bloomberg

The latest acts of mercy, however, involved people who Biden said had served their time and deserved a second chance. According to the White House, one recipient was a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters, another was a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counsellor, and a third was a decorated military veteran.

“Today, I am pardoning 39 people who have shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer,” Biden said in a statement announcing the fresh wave of pardons on Thursday (Friday AEDT).

“I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1500 people who are serving long prison sentences … These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”

The announcement came a week after Biden sparked an angry backlash within his own ranks after pardoning his son Hunter, who was facing the prospect of jail time after being convicted for tax and gun crimes – despite saying for months he would adhere to the jury’s verdict.

Some Democrats also feared it blunted their line of attack against Trump, the first convicted criminal to be elected president.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a Time magazine Person of the Year event at the New York Stock Exchange.Credit: AP

In recognition of Trump’s political resurgence, the president-elect has been named as Time magazine’s “Person of the Year”, beating Catherine, the Princess of Wales; Elon Musk and Vice President Kamala Harris, who were among those on the shortlist.

“His political rebirth is unparalleled in American history,” wrote the magazine, which has granted every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt – other than Gerald Ford – the honorary title.

“While Democrats estimated that most of the country wanted a president who would uphold the norms of liberal democracy, Trump saw a nation ready to smash them, tapping into a growing sense that the system was rigged,” Time wrote as it explained its choice.

Trump – also named person of the year by Time when he won the 2016 election – celebrated his latest accolade by ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange about the same time that Biden announced his acts of clemency.

The ability to grant a pardon is one of the most sweeping powers a president has under the Constitution. It essentially forgives a crime and removes all the penalties associated with it, whereas a commutation reduces a sentence without erasing the conviction.

But while it is customary for presidents to grant mercy at the end of their terms, never before have so many pardons or commutations been issued on a single day.

The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” said Biden, who noted that he would continue to review clemency petitions in his final weeks.

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