I Beg Your Pardon!
The phrase Joe will be hearing from now until Monday
As the Joe Biden-fronted Administration winds down, the inevitable last-minute pardons will soon be upon us – perhaps as early as Friday night, so as to lessen the damage of a weekday news cycle. Who knows, perhaps Joe will coordinate the pardons with an Iranian bombing campaign to shift attention.
But rest assured – there will be pardons. Every president does them. Pardons, even preemptive pardons, are legal and within the president’s power. Nixon, Casper Weinberger, and Vietnam-era draft dodgers were all given preemptive pardons.
The Biden Administration’s pardons, however, may prove to be the most controversial since Ford’s pardon of Nixon.
There have been stories floated by the administration to friendly news outlets about wide-scale pre-emptive pardons for Biden allies who took part in the lawfare against Trump, as well as for Biden family associates. Internally, the Biden administration has apparently discussed pardons for Jack Smith, Bennie Thompson, Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, Adam Schiff, and generally anyone who seems to have gone after Donald Trump (perhaps even Merrick Garland).
Biden himself, in fact, has said that he is considering pardons for potential Trump targets. Consider the subterfuge around the Steele Dossier and Russian Collusion or the White House involvement in coordinating the multiple criminal cases against Trump. This could be a long list.
As the Biden Administration is denying that any of these people did anything improper or illegal, seems odd to issue or even mention preemptive pardons. Trump is a political outlier, but to create a new set of laws out of whole cloth to persecute people who did “nothing wrong” seems like a task even beyond Orange Hitler. We have yet to hear anyone in the Biden Administration explain how Trump would go after these “innocents.”
Now, the above list is just for potential political targets. But what about the Biden Family?
(Smile everyone! Saaaay… pardon!)
Joe has already given his son a full pardon. This move was personal and should not have surprised anyone.
But it opens up further questions about the Biden Family’s operations. Hunter is untouchable for past offenses. That means he can’t plead the 5th in an investigative grand jury. He has to answer questions. Sure, he could “not recall” on many queries, but financial documents have a way of answering a lot of questions on their own and leaving little wiggle room for obfuscation.
This opens up a whole new set of pardons for Biden to consider. His brother Jim is in legal trouble already, as he is suspected of lying to the House Oversight Committee under oath. He is also seemingly involved in a loan fraud scheme tied to his Americore business, taking loans from Biden Family associates at a suspicious rate. There was also a private loan from a Ukrainian-American businessman to pay for a $1.5 million home on Keewaydin Island in Florida. It is unclear how or if these loans were paid back.
Jim and his wife Sara, in fact, have a long history of taking loans from Joe Biden campaign supporters. Jim has taken at least four loans from individuals tied to his brother and a few more from banks that are run by Biden supporters. This puts Sara Biden on the hot seat for investigation as well.
And of course, money changed hands between Jim and Joe – at least $240,000. And don’t forget the extraordinary number of loans that Joe and Jill Biden have taken out themselves. Their own Rehoboth Beach home has been refinanced a remarkable 35 times. Thirty-five!
Delaware still charges substantial closing costs for a refi, 3 to 5%. Funny thing about loans. They are generally tax-free and don’t count as income. Have Joe and Jill been paying their “fair share” of taxes? Will Joe be pardoning Jill? Has he asked about the legality of pardoning himself?
To add to Joe’s concerns, at least nine family members have allegedly received money from foreign sources. Some recipients are just children with foreign-funded trust funds, but not all. Jim, Sara, Hunter, Hallie, Kathleen Buhle, and Melissa Cohen all received foreign funds.
Joe is probably kept up nights worrying about a vindictive Trump and Pam Bondi digging through those transactions (assuming there is anything that could keep Joe Biden up these days). This is especially true when Hunter can be compelled to testify. Democrats seemed concerned about it when they were grilling Pam Bondi this week at her Attorney General confirmation hearing.
When Biden and Trump met, Joe brought up the potential targeting of enemies. Trump, troll master that he is, was silent on the issue, letting Joe continue to fret and adding to the likelihood that Joe would decide to grant pardons, further tarnishing his reputation.
So then here, in a nutshell, is Joe’s quandary: Does he create a massive list of cabinet and family members to pardon? It would destroy anything left of his reputation.
Or does he roll the dice and hope that Trump lets sleeping dogs lie?
That’s a big gamble when your family is involved.
We anticipate Biden raises some eyebrows with an 11th hour family-and-friends special sometime before Monday.
NYPD – WTF?
The hits just keep on coming for the present iteration of the NYPD. This week it was revealed that police executives may have been abusing their access to police rental vehicles. The CRALO (Confidential Rental and Leasing Office) program within the NYPD Fleet Services Division appears to be a miasma of mismanagement — or worse.
There are allegations that executives within the NYPD were using their influence to get themselves (and their friends and paramours) access to some nice rides. And as the CRALO budget was blown out, it became obvious that there was something amiss.
These cars are meant for police work. We had a few of them in specialized units I worked in. They were used for the many surveillance operations we ran on wire cases. They were not easy to come by, even for legit work.
Many executives are given Police Department-owned vehicles to use and even bring home. These are obvious cop cars: Impalas, Explorers, Tauruses that you can spot on the road a mile off.
(“Well we were undercover until you sat on the car, boss…!)
Now commuting in a job car is nice, but they are not giving it to you to be nice. People with take-home cars are expected to respond to work at a moment’s notice. If it’s your responsibility, your command, the NYPD expects its Captains-and-above to be on scene and directing operations when called (and believe me, they call).
Which makes this latest scandal all-the-more embarrassing and infuriating. It is alleged that some executives manipulated budget codes to get themselves these discreet and often plush rides. Another black eye for a department that is reeling with one executive scandal after another.
Commissioner Tisch does not appear to be pulling any punches in going after misconduct or corruption. And that’s a good thing. Get everything out in the open. Get rid of the wrongdoers, and put the NYPD back where it belongs – on the cutting edge of proactive, professional, and productive policework.
Hardworking cops will be just as grateful as the public.
(Note: And if the rumors we’re hearing are true… hoo boy. The entire NYPD corruption situation is about to escalate, big-time. Stay tuned).
So… Was It Arson? How Can We Tell?
So as L.A. digs out from what may be the worst property crime in U.S. history… now comes the investigation.
Join The Ops Desk boys for an interview with the former Commanding Officer of the NYPD Arson & Explosion Squad — retired Lieutenant Steve Russell.
Arson investigation is a very specialized field… and one even most cops know very little about. It’s a mix of science, police intuition, and traditional detective street-work.
Join us as Chris and Paul quiz the good Lieutenant on his stellar career leading the squad investigating arson, fire-related homicides, and explosions in New York City…all while working alongside FDNY Fire Marshalls, ATF, FBI, and myriad other agencies.
There aren’t too many investigators out there who can lay claim to responding to literally thousands of arson jobs over a career.
Meet one of the few here.
(Click HERE for the full interview!)
And finally…
Nailed it.
Is there anybody left to pardon?