Pardons By Trump And Biden Reveal Distrust Of Each Other And Wobbly Faith In Criminal Justice System

A day that began with the outgoing president's pardon of lawmakers and his own family ended with the incoming president's pardon of supporters who violently stormed the U.S. Capitol four years ago.

The clemency grants by departing President Joe Biden and new President Donald Trump - one benefiting uncharged people not accused of wrongdoing, the other aiding rioters convicted of violent felonies - are vastly different in scope, impact and their meaning for the rule of law.

But the remarkable flex of executive authority in a 12-hour span also shows the men's deeply rooted suspicion of one another, with both signaling to their supporters that the tall pillars of the criminal justice system - facts, evidence and law - could not be trusted as foundational principles in each other's administrations.

"It was a sad day for Lady Justice no matter which side of the political spectrum you're on," said John Fishwick Jr., a former U.S. attorney in Virginia during the Obama administration. "In alternative ways, both Biden and Trump were sending the same message. Trump was saying it was a corrupt system the last four years, and Biden was saying it's about to be a corrupt system. And that's a horrible message."

In pardoning his siblings and their spouses in one of his final actions in office, Biden said his family had been 'subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me - the worst kind of partisan politics." He said he had "no reason to believe these attacks will end," a similar rationale he cited when pardoning his son Hunter in December for tax and gun crimes despite having pledged not to.