Five individuals who sought pardons from former President Biden are calling for his clemency decisions to be reexamined amid fresh debate over his mental sharpness while in office.
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, rabbi and former political candidate Michael Rothenberg, cardiologist Michael Jones and radio host Warren Ballentine outlined in an op-ed published by The Hill on Monday that they completed the process to apply for pardons under the Biden administration but were ultimately denied.
All five were convicted of nonviolent federal crimes dating back to 2013, and all five are asking President Trump to reconsider their pardon requests.
“Biden’s pardons of close associates and family members raised serious ethical and legal concerns, particularly when others in similar situations were denied pardons,” the five wrote in an op-ed for The Hill.
“The issue at hand was not about his legal right to grant pardons, but whether his cognitive condition affected the integrity of such decisions,” they added. “This is particularly noteworthy since Biden used the full Nixon-era formula in granting ‘full, complete, absolute and unconditional’ pardons to members of his family, covering a lengthy period of time and without citing any specific alleged wrongdoing on their part.”
Imagine that.
