Trump Sends Cryptic Message To Biden After He Didn’t Pardon Himself
During a Wednesday interview, President Donald Trump suggested that former President Joe Biden had made a mistake by not preemptively pardoning himself before leaving office.
In the sit-down with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump avoided directly addressing whether Biden should face an investigation. However, he repeatedly emphasized that Biden should have used his presidential pardon power to protect himself.
“This guy went around giving everybody pardons,” Trump remarked. “And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn’t give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him.”
Trump went on to say that Biden “got very bad advice.”
“Joe Biden has very bad advisers. Somebody advised Joe Biden to give pardons to everybody but him,” Trump stated.
When asked about potential investigations into Biden, Trump deferred to Congress, saying lawmakers would need to decide whether to examine Biden’s decision to pardon family members and critics of Trump, including retired Gen. Mark Milley, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and members of the House panel that investigated the January 6 Capitol incident.
Biden’s decision to issue these pardons was accompanied by a statement in which he expressed concern that these individuals could face politically motivated investigations under a Trump administration—a move Trump labeled hypocritical.
Trump also hinted that Biden and other critics might deserve the same legal scrutiny he faced over the past two years, following his indictments in New York, Georgia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
“I went through four years of hell by this scum that we had to deal with. I went through four years of hell,” Trump said of his legal challenges. “I spent millions of dollars in legal fees, and I won. But I did it the hard way. It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it also. It is very hard to say it.”
Trump further revealed that his advisers had discussed the option of a self-pardon as he was preparing to leave office after his first term.
“I was given the option. They said, ‘Sir, would you like to pardon everybody, including yourself?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to pardon anybody. We didn’t do anything wrong,’” Trump explained.
Legal experts note that while a self-pardon could have shielded Trump from federal prosecution, it would not have protected him from state-level charges like those he faced in New York and Georgia. Nevertheless, Trump has indicated that his felony convictions in New York are under appeal, and the Fulton County, Ga., case involving allegations of racketeering during the 2020 election appears to have weakened due to concerns about District Attorney Fani Willis’ conduct.
Meanwhile, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) revealed this week that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has promised to allow his investigation into the actions of the Nancy Pelosi-appointed January 6 Committee to continue. According to Loudermilk, the investigation will likely be formalized as an official subcommittee.
Speaking to CNN, Loudermilk explained that the focus of the investigation would shift from blaming Trump entirely for the Capitol attack to evaluating the legitimacy and motivations of the Democratic-led committee’s actions.
“It was so singularly focused that basically, Trump created this entire problem,” Loudermilk said, referring to the committee co-led by now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney. “When in reality, it was a multitude of failures at different levels.”
CNN reported that Republicans have also reissued subpoenas related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents and the Justice Department’s handling of the Hunter Biden tax case. These subpoenas revive issues from the previous Congress that had been tied up in court for months.
“Republicans plan to continue these politically charged investigations as they leverage their new majority,” the outlet noted.