Biden must use 'preemptive pardons' to protect these 6 people Trump singled out: columnist

26 November 2024

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) has been warning that Pam Bondi — former Florida attorney general and President-elect Donald Trump's new nominee for U.S. attorney general — will likely be all in on Trump's "revenge" campaign if confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Klobuchar, during a late November interview, told ABC News, "Does it concern me that revenge would be part of her mission? Of course it does."

During an August 2023 appearance on Fox News, Bondi threatened, "The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted... The investigators will be investigated."

Journalist Eleanor Clift shares Klobuchar's concerns. Her solution: President Joe Biden must exercise his "preemptive pardon" powers while he still has a chance.

In a November 26 opinion column for the Daily Beast, Clift argues, "Trump knows how the game works, and he's been upfront for months about using every lever of government to seek retribution from those who he believes wronged him. His choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi, is an election denier who should be disqualified on that alone. Instead, she is expected to lead the charge purging the DOJ of anyone who worked on prosecuting Trump, while also wasting taxpayer money to dig up alleged fraud from the 2020 election."

Clift continues, "Trump has threatened many of his adversaries, and he will soon have the power to make good on his threats. President Biden must act and use his pardon power to safeguard a lengthening list of people who are on the receiving end of Trump's threats. They will say they've done nothing wrong, and they're right. Preemptive pardons are problematic, a get-out-of jail free card when you haven't committed a crime. But they're needed now that President-elect Trump is gearing up his revenge tour."

Clift cites special counsel Jack Smith as a likely target of Trump's "revenge" campaign.

"Before he leaves office, Biden should pardon Liz Cheney, a profile in courage who we haven’t heard from since the election, and Nancy Pelosi, another unafraid leader and favorite target of Trump," Clift argues. "Then, the two generals deserve pardons: Mark Milley, who said he fears being recalled into service so Trump can court-martial him, and John Kelly, Trump's longest serving chief of staff who said Trump is a fascist."

Clift adds, "Also in the crosshairs are Adam Kinzinger, the former GOP congressman who served on the 1/6 committee, and Senator-elect Adam Schiff, who oversaw Trump's impeachment and is the butt of Trump’s nasty nicknames."

Eleanor Clift's full Daily Beast column is available at this link (subscription required).

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