(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Joe Biden ignored his own DOJ’s recommendations against pardoning and commuting the sentences of nearly 90 percent of convicted criminals, The Wall Street Journal revealed on Sunday.
While unsurprising, the move further exposes Biden’s self-proclaimed status as a “law and order” president as nothing but a farce. He is now the only president in U.S. history to use his pardon powers to shield his own family from potential legal consequences.
According to The Journal, out of the 2,500 criminals Biden pardoned, only 10 percent—just 258—were recommended by the DOJ.
Biden’s blanket clemencies triggered widespread condemnation from federal prosecutors, prompting DOJ pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer to address the outrage in a mass email.
“While I am a strong believer in the possibility of second chances through clemency, the process by which yesterday’s action was carried out was not what we had hoped and advocated for,” Oyer wrote, according to The Journal.
She acknowledged the controversy, admitting, “I understand that some of the clemency grants are very upsetting.”
Oyer also conceded that Biden made the decisions unilaterally: “This action was not carried out in consultation with the Office of the Pardon Attorney and there was little coordination with the Department.”
Among those who benefited from Biden’s sweeping pardons were 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row, whose sentences were converted to life without parole. This enraged the families of their victims—many of whom were brutally murdered and raped.
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden claimed in response.
Others granted clemency include Adrian Peeler, convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Previously, he had been sentenced for the murder conspiracy of the 1999 killing of an 8-year-old child and his mother. Peeler will now be freed in 2025 instead of 2033, thanks to Biden.
Another recipient, Lairon Graham, saw his sentence slashed from 22 years to less than 13. He had pleaded guilty to narcotics conspiracy and other charges tied to his coercion of young women into prostitution. According to The Journal, Graham beat one of his victims nearly every day.
