This morning, President Joe Biden issued another raft of pardons. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, and General Mark Milley were among his cronies who received "Get Out of Jail Free" cards. He also pardoned everyone on the Congressional January 6 Committee.
I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, I agree with critics who warn against the precedent of granting wholesale pardons to friends, family members, and political allies for uncharged and unspecified crimes. Such a practice fosters lawlessness and disrespect for the law.
On the other hand, President Trump once said that General Milley deserved to be executed and Liz Cheney should be criminally prosecuted. Those were imprudent things to say and provide some justification for Biden pardoning the two.
Most of the people who harassed Trump over the last eight years are lawyers. Several of them prosecuted Trump in the criminal courts for political reasons. In my view, this conduct constitutes malicious prosecution or abuse of process. Also, pursuing criminal charges against an individual for political reasons violates the ethical standards for attorneys.
Americans are tired of the interminable and dishonorable litigation that raged during Biden's presidency. I would like to see all the lawyers who pursued Trump through the courts for political reasons disbarred.
However, disbarment proceedings are within the purview of the various state judiciaries and bar associations, and these bodies are unlikely to act.
Therefore, I am content to see Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, and dozens of others fade into obscurity—perhaps to write their memoirs. To paraphrase the lyrics of a famous country song, they only did what they had to do, and now they're growing old.
Photo credit: Bill Moore and Amsterdam News |