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The Ethical Context for President Biden’s Pardon of His Son
Anyone paying attention the past week has noticed the bi-partisan barrage of criticism to which President Joe Biden has been subjected for exercising the powers of his office to pardon his son.
He has, of course, been lambasted as a hypocrite and liar, especially by Republicans, having previously claimed that he would not pardon his son and would respect the judicial process.
Some Democrats, like Colorado Governor Jared Polis, have expressed disappointment in Biden. Polis accused Biden of putting family over country. Other voices have worried the pardon will erode faith in the rule of law and commitment to the judicial process and also somehow legitimate all of the law-breaking and self-serving abuses of power in which Trump has engaged, also giving him license to engage in more claiming everyone does it, that it’s standard practice. Certainly, Trump’s political modus operandi has been to re-shape, or more appropriately to distort, norms and standard practices to undermine the practices and processes that provide the checks and balances that curb centralizations of power in personal whims that threaten to erode the rule of law.
Looking at Biden’s pardon from an ethical perspective, however, I believe adds some necessary nuance to the controversy over this act which is quite necessary for…
