EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

President Joe Biden’s 180-degree flip on Sunday from his promise not to pardon his son Hunter Biden prompted fierce backlash from politicians and pundits, calling the move a “tremendous strategic blunder that will haunt Democrats,” “the worst thing a president could possibly do to his party” and “the biggest public corruption scandal ever.”

While some legal experts have called Biden “justified” in the pardon of his son in anticipation of continued attacks from the incoming Donald Trump administration, departing Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) suggested that Biden could make the scales of justice “more balanced” by preemptively pardoning the president-elect.

Manchin doubled down on the idea on Tuesday, telling Raw Story at the Capitol, "I thought that would have been the balance that was needed here. It's the right thing. If you're gonna do one, then you do both and clear the slate, and then you move on."

Raw Story asked nine Democratic senators what they thought of Biden pardoning Trump, who has faced nearly 100 criminal charges across two state and two federal indictments — prompting reactions from laughter to dodging.

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‘Haven’t even considered’: Dem senators reject Trump pardon concept

The idea of Biden pardoning Trump for his federal charges — presidential pardon does not extend to state cases — made some senators laugh.

"Curious, what would you think if Biden pardoned Trump?" Raw Story asked Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) on Tuesday.

"I have nothing productive to say about any of that," Smith told Raw Story through laughter.

"You guys are all laughing," Raw Story observed.

The notion made Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) laugh, too.

"Sounds like you're not buying it," Raw Story asked.

"Nope, can't say that I am," Butler said.

Other senators pleaded ignorance of Manchin’s comments and claimed not to have considered the notion.

"I haven't seen that," Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) told Raw Story.

"Sen. Manchin has said as much," Raw Story replied. "The look on your face says, 'Hell no.'"

"No. I just have no thoughts," Heinrich said. "I don't know where that comes from."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told Raw Story,” I haven't thought about it," and Sen Jon Ossoff (D-GA) claimed to not “see what Sen. Manchin said.”

"I'd have to think about that,” Ossoff added.

When asked if a pardon from Biden would take down the temperature of political polarization and make Trump less aggressive in his pursuit of perceived political enemies, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told Raw Story, "I haven't even considered that argument before.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) defended Biden’s "full and unconditional pardon" of Hunter Biden for any offenses between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024, which includes federal gun charges and federal tax evasion charges he was to be sentenced for later this month.

"Given the extensive way in which Donald Trump has moved to politicize the FBI, I believe what was done by President Biden was understandable," Wyden said, avoiding Raw Story's question about a Trump pardon.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) said his office has received calls from constituents both supporting and opposing a pardon for Hunter Biden, which started coming in even before the president’s late Sunday announcement of the decision.

As for a Trump pardon, Carper said the idea was “not really” something he was even contemplating.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) rejected the idea of Biden issuing preemptive pardons for other targets of “raw politics,” as Biden said was the case for his son.

"I do not endorse that," Kaine said.

Legal experts weigh in on likelihood of Trump pardon

Harold Krent, a law professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, said he’s thought for weeks that a Hunter Biden-Trump combo pardon would be a good idea to “show mercy, healing, unification,” but now the timing is too late.

“I think the gesture earlier would have been, maybe not meaningful, but maybe some kind of small step towards the healing of the divide in our country,” Krent told Raw Story. “I think the opportunity’s behind us, so I doubt that it's going to happen at this point.”

Krent, who formerly worked for the Department of Justice, expects that Trump will “obviously” order the department to discontinue any cases against him. Whether Trump can just pardon himself, Krent said he and many academic scholars are in agreement that the concept is “against the checks and balances of the Constitution, but it's never been tried … so, who knows?”

Neama Rahmani, a former assistant U.S. attorney and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, said Trump doesn’t need a pardon from Biden as it is “well established that a sitting president can't be prosecuted.”

To wait until Trump leaves office in January 2029 to resume the cases against him is unlikely due to a typical five-year statute of limitations, Rahmani said.

“Trump, like any other criminal defendant, has a right to a speedy trial, so that's why you see Jack Smith moving to dismiss the two federal prosecutions, the one in D.C. and the one in Florida,” Rahmani said.

As for the state cases, the racketeering case against Trump in Georgia involving his alleged efforts to hold onto power despite his loss in the 2020 election has been paused since District Attorney Fani Willis’ relationship with a lawyer who worked on the case came under scrutiny.

Earlier this year, Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in a Manhattan criminal case in relation to falsifying business records, but his sentencing is also on hold.

“I thought there would be a sentencing, and then they would toll it until after he served as president, but it looks like the judge may not even want to impose sentence,” Krent said.

Both Krent and Rahmani said the Hunter Biden pardon looks bad for the current president, with Rahmani characterizing the move as “misleading the American people for the past six months,” and Krent saying the decision left a “bitter taste in some people’s mouths.”

“To make it worse, he criticized his own prosecution as being biased. That's just like undercutting the legs out of the loyal members of the Department of Justice who do the investigation by calling it politically charged, so I think it's not a bright moment for the Biden legacy,” Krent said.

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