Jeffries wants Biden to dole out pardons for people aggressively prosecuted 'for nonviolent offenses'
On the heels of President Joe Biden's move to issue a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter Biden, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., issued a statement suggesting the president should issue pardons for individuals who faced "aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses."
"Throughout his life, President Joe Biden has fought to improve the plight of hardworking Americans struggling to live paycheck to paycheck," Jeffries said in the statement. "Many of these people have been aggressively prosecuted and harshly sentenced for nonviolent offenses, often without the benefit of adequate legal representation. Countless lives, families and communities have been adversely impacted, particularly in parts of Appalachia, Urban America and the Heartland.
"During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses," Jeffries continued.
"This moment calls for liberty and justice for all," he concluded.
The president's pardon of Hunter Biden covers more than a decade.
The "Full and Unconditional Pardon" covers "those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024 … "
Biden has earned blowback, including from some members of his own party.
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Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., asserted in a post on X that the president's move "put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all."
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said that the pardon would sully the president's reputation.
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"While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden's natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation," the Democratic governor opined in a tweet.