File photo of U.S. President Donald Trump. | Photo Credit: AP
U.S. President Donald Trump has attempted to void some of his predecessor Joe Biden’s eleventh hour pardons, the latest in a series of moves to prosecute his political opponents.
The pardons Mr. Trump declared void included those for Members of the U.S. House of Representatives investigating the January 6, 2020, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. Others pardoned by Mr. Biden just before he stepped down as President on January 20, 2025 included Chief Anthony Fauci, who led the Biden Administration’s response to COVID-19 and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Mr. Trump wrote on his ‘Truth Social’ media platform just after midnight (Washington DC time) on Monday .
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The January 6 Select Committee included Republicans Liz Cheney, a Trump critic and daughter of former U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, as well as Adam Kinzinger who represented the 11th District in Illinois. It also included Democrat Adam Schiff, who is now a U.S. Senator from California and a vocal critic of Mr. Trump.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump had pardoned or commuted sentences in more than 1,500 cases connected to the January 6 attack.
Mr. Trump argued on Monday (March 17, 2025) that Mr. Biden did not sign the pardons himself and claimed, without any proof, that Mr. Biden did not even know about the pardons.
“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”
Mr. Trump further suggested — without providing any evidence — that members of the Select Committee were probably responsible for signing the pardons without Mr. Biden’s knowledge.
The President however admitted that it was the courts that would ultimately decide if he had the ability to rescind previous Presidential pardons.
“I think so. It’s not my decision…that’ll be up to a court,” Mr. Trump said about pardons and executive orders being void if signed by an autopen, as per reporting from the White House pool.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are among recent U.S. Presidents who have used the pardon to protect their allies or families, often pre-emptively. The courts have thus far been reluctant to curtail the President’s powers of pardon, sanctioned by Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The pardoning powers are broad but limited to crimes against the United States and excluding cases of impeachment.
Published – March 17, 2025 06:35 pm IST
