He should. He should double-dog dare Congress to impeach him over the pardon power. The Supreme Court has held that only Congress can keep an Imperial Presidency in check. Biden should demonstrate exactly how far he can go if Congress is unwilling to do that.
“Hello everybody, and welcome to the Joe Biden Show. First of all, I’d like you to look under your seat. If you find an envelope, pull it out, please.”
“That’s right! You get a pardon! And YOU get a pardon! Everybody gets a pardon!”
The impeachment process is equally broad, though, and while it must function on a case-by- case basis, it can be used to put guardrails around “essentially unlimited” powers like this. While the Pardon power itself is broad, it is not a license to violate the rest of the Constitution.
Congress can step in and say “Yes, there are limits to the pardon power, because if a President goes too far we can put him in check”, and then define “too far” in the impeachment resolution.
He should. He should double-dog dare Congress to impeach him over the pardon power. The Supreme Court has held that only Congress can keep an Imperial Presidency in check. Biden should demonstrate exactly how far he can go if Congress is unwilling to do that.
Even political allies that say things like “you can’t pardon because x y z…”
Do it anyway. Make a mess. Trump fanatics didn’t care. The fuck should Biden? Let’s let conservative courts prove they don’t care about real freedom.
“Hello everybody, and welcome to the Joe Biden Show. First of all, I’d like you to look under your seat. If you find an envelope, pull it out, please.”
“That’s right! You get a pardon! And YOU get a pardon! Everybody gets a pardon!”
Courts have consistently ruled that the pardon power is essentially unlimited.
The impeachment process is equally broad, though, and while it must function on a case-by- case basis, it can be used to put guardrails around “essentially unlimited” powers like this. While the Pardon power itself is broad, it is not a license to violate the rest of the Constitution.
Congress can step in and say “Yes, there are limits to the pardon power, because if a President goes too far we can put him in check”, and then define “too far” in the impeachment resolution.