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The decision by President Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter, despite previously suggesting he would not do so, has reopened debate over the use of the presidential pardon.

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[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 5 points 23 hours ago

LOL, "debate".

The qons do whatever the hell they want, and dare anyone to push back. If anyone even clears their throat, the right cries about being "cancelled" or whatever.

[-] _lilith@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Ethical standards. Don't make me fucking laugh.

[-] Roopappy@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

We want to elect a president who is a convicted fraudster, found to have committed a sexual assault, who incited people to overthrow the government and murder is VP then watched excitedly while it went down, and who has promised to suspend our rights to punish anyone who questions him...

And then, we want to talk about presidential ethics?

Yeah, no. That ship has sailed. Ethics will get much much worse, because that's what voters clearly selected. Lets not pretend anyone gives a shit.

[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago

As soon as a democrat does it, everyone suddenly cares? We should do this more often, clearly the magats need to see an example before they'll agree to fix the loopholes.

[-] Vipsu@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

It's easy to expect perfection from your opponents while crying about whataboutism when someone points out their side has done the same.

[-] ceenote@lemmy.world 187 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Trump: Filling his cabinet with conflicted individuals and loyalists, many of whom have had legal troubles and been pardoned by him.

Biden: Pardons a family member who has never held government office for a drug-related offence.

And which story dominates the news cycle? The media is more than complicit in the resurgence of fascism in this country.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago

The media is more than complicit in the resurgence of fascism in this country.

YUP.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Thing that's been dominating the news cycle for weeks is momentarily less dominant than thing that happened just yesterday.

Must be because people are so unfair to that troubled youth who just needed help, Hunter Biden. Has nothing to do with Joe Biden promising to use presidential powers to pardon the indigent, disproportionately-black group of people who went to jail for possessing weed and instead using the powers specifically for his 54 year old millionaire son.

Biden already pardoned everyone convicted of possessing weed. The only "non-violent" cannabis offenders in federal prison are dealers.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Just this year there have been 200,000 weed related arrests, and thousands imprisoned because simple possession is still illegal in lots of the US.

[-] eRac@lemmings.world 4 points 1 day ago
[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

You could simply google it instead of asking and waiting for me to google it for you yknow.

[-] BaldManGoomba@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

No you made the claim now it is your burden to source and prove it. Generally and federally not much is happening with weed even on the arrest side as we wait to try to decriminalize it. You can't pardon state crimes.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This isn't a court of law and they weren't the person who I made the claim to. They can google it.

[-] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago

LOL, like any of these papers give a fuck about pardoning weed prisoners. You're right that he should be pardoning more people, but the "debate" and "controversy" is entirely separate from that.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

These papers care about him promising not to do it then doing it anyways - that's also part of the controversy.

[-] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

A promise about an irrelevant thing is similarly irrelevant. This isn't pushing the bounds for presidential pardons or going to influence the future of politics or law enforcement at all. The media is deeply concerned about a trivial act that's both 100x less serious than the lies and pardons of his predecessor, those of past Democratic presidents, and his own prior deceptions and actions. It's centrist media clutching pearls for the precious "norms" and "optics" while everyone knows Trump has and will do worse in this very same department and that Biden himself has grave failures they're completely uninterested in. They want to pretend they're hard-nosed watchdogs of Both Sides without actually engaging in any truth-seeking that might upset people who will still hold power past January.

Lmao the false equivalence is absolutely deafening

[-] hark@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago

This is what does it? I'm not a fan of the nepotism, but there were plenty of worse cases that should've renewed the debate. Doesn't give me much hope for whatever comes out of this "debate".

You'd think Trump and Giuliani selling pardons for $2 million a piece would be a much bigger example.

[-] DoomHorizons@lemm.ee 81 points 2 days ago

The time to worry about the limits of presidential power was during the supreme court decision on immunity

Now that cats out of the bag, there's no sense in Biden trying to adhere to standards that no longer exist

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

True. Ain't nobody "reopening" debate except corporate news holes.

[-] Xanis@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Yup. Let him go crazy with those powers. As sour as it tastes, he was given authority to do so by the Federal Supreme Court. If MAGA doesn't like it they can kiss our collective asses and roll that shit back.

They won't, of course, for a couple reasons:

  1. It IS another form of power
  2. They know the left will have plenty of people complaining whenever someone on their side decides to use it, while everyone on the Far Right will rejoice.

I suggest those of you whining about this take a step back and look at the bigger issues. One of which happens to be rather rotund, orange, and requires us to stop bickering.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

You argument is quite literally "the president should just go ahead and misuse power right now because it was abused before." It's astonishing what you people will let Dems get away with and how little you consider the damage it does to the party's image, chances, conduct and culture.

[-] DoomHorizons@lemm.ee 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The damage is already done, why worry about image, chances conduct and culture in a country that's got no future either way

He might as well do what he can while he can, none of it is going to matter for long

[-] eran_morad@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Fucking good. The pardon power is bullshit and we ought to pull it the fuck out of the constitution. I'm glad Brandon pardoned his son, though, I hope republicans go apoplectic. Those cunts ushered in this era of lawlessness, why the fuck should we play ball? Sort out your twice-impeached rapist felon traitor president, cunts. Don't step to me with this Hunter Biden bullshit. Fuck off and die.

[-] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 29 points 2 days ago

Honestly, Biden should just go completely off the rails, and do all the shit Trump is threatening to do, including jailing political rivals. Including the red members of the SCOTUS. Give them plenty of warning, and plenty of time to reverse their prior ruling, but start following through if they decline to. Make them respond.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 25 points 2 days ago

Too bad the Democrats official motto is "when they go low, we sit here and do absofucukinglutly nothing but cry about it and let them tread all over us."

[-] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 9 points 2 days ago

I find their continued requests for donations while they do absolutely nothing to be particularly infuriating.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 6 points 2 days ago

Donate to us, we gave Oprah too much!

[-] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago

Once again I'm asking for your financial support to do Jack shit!

[-] Xanis@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

I said months ago that Biden and the larger Democratic party needed to come out swinging. I doubled down after Biden's lackluster debate. When Harris hit the ground sprinting I was actually happy. Then some traditional democratic strategic asshat convinced her to simmer down and take a risky route that would only have worked 25 years ago.

Step up, Dems. We've gone from cushy NFL offsides to NFL Blitz and you're waaay behind.

[-] treefrog@lemm.ee 36 points 2 days ago

Trump is going to pardon much worse criminals than Hunter. And the GOP won't say shit.

Hypocrites are going to do what they want. So what debate?

[-] QuincyPeck@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

Is going to and already has pardoned worse.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 24 points 2 days ago

Oh my god, Biden did something vaguely questionable, clutch my fucking pearls.

[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 5 points 2 days ago

vague questionable on a case that was questionable. I still think of how clintons impeachment was due to a lie about a relationship with lewinski in the watergate investigation which they were cleared for but they still impeached due to the lie about the questionable personal relationship and then not having even that for biden they went after his son who at most used his name to make money. But trump was impeached because of withholding money to a foreign leader until they managed to pressure their press to give him a line of attack on his opponent. And the dems never impeached bush or reagan. sad.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I know this is a questionable move, but with a gang of fascist crooks about to take over the USA it's a bit depressing to read headlines that are still stuck at "renews ethical debate". Fascists don't debate ethics or anything else, and particularly fascist autocrats and their enablers don't debate the ethical limits of presidential power. They have other ways of resolving matters, and people need to focus on preparing effective ways to defend themselves.

[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 days ago

There is no "ethical debate" anymore. You're system is broken to the core and I don't blame Biden at all for saying "fuck it".

Hell, if I were him I'd use my so-called "Presidential Immunity" to do whatever he can to fuck up the MAGA agenda before he leaves.

"I'm putting 6 new judges on the supreme court, all democract. Why? Because fuck you, that's why."

"I'm giving two of our nukes because fuck Putin"

[-] Rhaedas@fedia.io 5 points 2 days ago

I'm hoping that this is just a start and won't be a single action. I can unfortunately see the side of everyone's opinion on this, good and bad, which is why it needs to be today's headline only because Trump hasn't put some other loyalist in a position today yet.

[-] distantsounds@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Joe Biden is an embarrassment. This is another reason why the US chose trump, democrats have proven to be no different than the GOP. The republicans are honest about how corrupt they are. What a fucking sad state

[-] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 days ago

Yeah one has pardoned his son, while the other has raped children, been good friends with Epstein, is a felon, lies frequently, and has attempted overthrow the US government. They're totally the same thing!

[-] distantsounds@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Epstein’s friend Bill Clinton? But seriously, they are NOT the same, but they are both own by the same people…and neither really care about the average person.

[-] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago

Wtf are you talking about? I'm talking about the recently elected president of the United States, Trump, and the president that is just leaving the position, Biden. You show me a picture of Epstein and Clinton? Fuck Bill Clinton if he did do BS with Epstein, but the point is, OUR INCOMING PRESIDENT WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH EPSTEIN! It feels like you're trying to make up some comparison that doesn't exist.

[-] distantsounds@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

You come this thread with wHaT aBoUt trUmP?! …when all I was saying is that Biden is shit. See how whataboutism is ridiculous? Both suck spend your time better

[-] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

You:

democrats have proven to be no different than the GOP.

Me:

Yeah one has pardoned his son, while the other has raped children, been good friends with Epstein, is a felon, lies frequently, and has attempted overthrow the US government.

That's not what aboutism, that's directly addressing your false equivalency. The GOP and the Democrats are absolutely not the same. Then you bring up Epstein and Bill Clinton, but sure I'm the one bringing up random people. The GOP supports traitors, the DNC does not.

this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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