“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.”
President Trump said on Truth Social early Monday morning that he had determined to void the pardons former President Joe Biden had issued on his last day in office. Trump's reasoning is that Biden, in his view, "did not know anything about them." The orders were signed with "autopen," which is a device that automatically reproduces a person's signature. It's primarily used when there are many documents to sign.
These were pardons issued for those on the January 6 Select Committee in Congress, including Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson, as well as pardons for his Covid-czar Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT," Trump said, "because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!"
It was reported in early December that the Biden White House was pondering pardons for J6 committee members, per White House counsel Ed Siskel and chief of staff Jeff Zients. "It’s unclear if Biden has been looped in on the discussions or if he’s taken a position on the issue," the New York Post reported at the time.
"The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden," Trump went on. "He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!"
A void of these pardons would allow an investigation into Fauci, Milley and the J6 committee. However, with the pardons in hand, those on the J6 committee, if subpoenaed and questioned, would not be able to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights to stay silent.
It is unclear, however, if Trump has the legal authority to void a previous president's pardons once those pardons have been finalized. Trump's angle is that he believes Biden's aides used a device to sign them and that Biden was not aware of it. The issued pardons were "unconditional." Biden also gave an unconditional pardon to his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal gun and tax crimes. Trump pardoned some 1,600 Americans who were charged with offenses stemming from the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Judicial precedent indicates that pardons can be revoked before they are officially delivered to those persons who were pardoned, but that after that point, they can no longer be revoked. President George W. Bush revoked a pardon he had issued before the recipient received it. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant attempted to revoke a pardon issued by his predecessor Andrew Johnson. He was able to do this because the individual getting the pardon had not yet received it.
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