Joe Manchin Blasts Biden Before Senate Exit – ‘Horribly Misguided’
Senator Joe Manchin III issued sharp criticism of President Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of dozens of death row inmates, including two individuals convicted of murder in West Virginia, the senator’s home state.
Manchin specifically took issue with the commutations of Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who were convicted of the brutal killing of Marshall University student Samantha Burns over two decades ago, as well as the murder of another woman in South Carolina during the same crime spree, as reported by The Washington Times.
“After speaking to Samantha Burns’ parents, I believe it is my duty to speak on their behalf and say President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences for the two men convicted in her brutal murder is horribly misguided and insulting,” Manchin shared on social media.
He further emphasized, “Particularly since Samantha’s family wrote letters to President Biden & the Department of Justice, pleading for them not to do this, but their concerns were unheard. I can’t imagine the grief that Kandi and John Burns are reliving and dealing with during the holiday season.”
In the final stretch of his presidency, Biden exercised his executive authority to reduce the sentences of Brandon Basham, Chadrick Fulks, and 35 other federal death row inmates to life imprisonment.
The president defended his action, stating it was intended to prevent incoming President-elect Donald Trump from resuming federal executions, which had been halted under Biden’s administration. All of the inmates affected by the decision had been convicted of murder.
Biden, however, left three federal death row inmates’ sentences unchanged: the Boston Marathon bomber responsible for three deaths and hundreds of injuries, the gunman who killed nine people in a racially motivated attack at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the assailant behind the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting that killed 11 people in Pittsburgh, The Times reported.
Manchin’s pointed remarks represent just the latest wave of criticism Biden has faced from both Democrats and former Democrats, as well as other prominent figures, regarding his leadership.
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith recently expressed regret for supporting Vice President Kamala Harris during an interview with Fox News host Mark Levin.
During the segment on Life, Liberty, and Levin, the host asked Smith if he would consider backing President-elect Trump.
“Quite possibly. I’m not going to sit up there and dismiss that anymore. I think we’re beyond that. He would have to prove a lot, Mark. And I’m not talking about policy now,” Smith responded.
“I voted Democrat, and I got to tell you something right now. I don’t like the fact that I did. I don’t like what I’m seeing,” he elaborated.
Meanwhile, Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks podcast and a prominent progressive voice, reacted strongly to a suggestion by her colleague Cenk Uygur regarding Vice President Harris.
“I think Kamala Harris would probably win in a cakewalk for governor,” Uygur predicted during a recent segment.
“No! No!” Kasparian exclaimed. “What are you doing? What are you doing?”
Uygur defended his stance, saying, “I’m telling you the reality, whether you like it or not. Democratic voters in California love to obey.”
Frustrated, Kasparian declared, “I’m gonna move, Cenk! I’m gonna quit my job. I’m gonna quit my job, and I’m gonna move.”
She then delivered a scathing remark seemingly aimed at current Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom:
“This state cannot survive another incompetent Democrat leading it,” Kasparian stated. “No, we just can’t.”