Former president Biden’s last-minute wave of pardons and commutations — including clemency for high-profile political and personal allies — is now reportedly drawing criticism, even from Democrats who acknowledge he sidestepped the “proper” channels for justice.
On Fox News’ The Five Monday, Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov conceded that Biden’s actions fell outside the Department of Justice process typically expected in such matters.
“I think there are some people who feel that way genuinely,” Tarlov said, referring to frustration among Democratic voters. She admitted that Biden “should have gone through the ‘proper’ Department of Justice channels for his last-minute pardons.”
The former president’s sweeping actions came just before leaving office in January. In December 2024, he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals while granting pardons to a number of well-known figures.
The list included Democratic politicians and public officials convicted on corruption charges, as well as his own son, Hunter Biden, retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fox host Greg Gutfeld pressed Tarlov on the implications for the Democratic Party, asking how voters could remain loyal if they believed the party had “lied” to them about their president. Tarlov acknowledged the disillusionment, noting that “some people who usually vote for Democrats went out and voted for Trump in 2024.”
Still, she argued that many Democrats remain tied to the party less by loyalty to Biden himself than by policy preferences. “At the end of the day … since Obama, it’s not a cult of personality issue. It’s a set of policy preferences. And they like the Democratic policies better than Republican policies,” she said, suggesting Democrats would return to the polls in future elections despite current dissatisfaction.
Her comments, however, did little to quiet criticism over Biden’s choices. The use of the autopen to finalize such sweeping clemency decisions raised further questions about transparency and accountability.
While Tarlov pointed out that “every president does that” — citing President Trump’s own end-of-term pardons — Fox’s Jesse Watters quickly interjected, highlighting the scale and deeply personal nature of Biden’s actions.
The inclusion of Hunter Biden on the pardon list remains perhaps the most controversial decision. Coming after years of scrutiny over his overseas business dealings and federal investigations, the move underscored what critics call a glaring conflict of interest.
Similarly, the pardons of Milley and Fauci — two figures closely tied to Biden’s presidency and polarizing in their own right — are likely to fuel skepticism among Republicans and independents who see the actions as overtly political.
For conservatives, Biden’s decisions fit a pattern of Democrats shielding their own from accountability. The fact that even Tarlov, a reliable Democratic voice, admitted Biden bypassed the “proper” process only underscores the unease.
The pardons may offer temporary relief for Biden’s allies, but they appear to have deepened the divide among voters. As Tarlov conceded, many disillusioned Democrats already defected in 2024.
Whether the party can win them back by 2028 may depend less on loyalty to personalities than on whether voters believe Democrats can govern with fairness and integrity.
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