David Colburn

If Joe Biden wanted to end his one-term presidency on a bang rather than a lame-duck whimper, he’s sure found a way to do it by using the imperial power of his pen to give justice a swift kick in the pants.
Of course, he started with the pardon he repeatedly said he’d never give, the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, the first time in history a U.S. president has absolved his son of crimes. Hunter lied on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form about his drug use when he purchased a handgun, and of evading payment of $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020. He also precluded potential future charges being brought against Hunter by pardoning him for any federal violations he may have committed since 2014.
Biden was being presidential when he said he would stay out of it and said he would not grant a pardon to his son. He was being fatherly when he reversed course and did it. Sorry, Mr. Biden, but we didn’t elect you to be Dad-in-Chief. We elected you to be Commander-in-Chief.
In his statement pardoning Hunter, Biden gave full credence to those who have been clamoring that the Justice Department has been politicized, even weaponized, particularly against president-elect Donald Trump. Criticism has come from both sides of the aisle, and only two out of ten Americans polled about it support the pardon. That leaves 80 percent opposed, and in electoral terms that’s a massive landslide and mandate for reform. As an editorial in the Economist put it, “The president’s reversal is understandable, humane, and wrong.”
When Trump moves to pardon those convicted of crimes for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, what leg do Democrats have left to stand on now that the president’s son has been pardoned by the president himself for crimes that were proven beyond a reasonable doubt because the prosecutions, as Biden said, singled Hunter out for political purposes? Those on the right have been claiming the exact same thing about Jan. 6.
And Biden’s pardon of the gun-related charge is a big Bronx cheer at the efforts of his own Justice Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, for example, has touted their aggressive approach to pursuing those who lie in connection with gun purchases, making numerous convictions.
Ah, but Biden muddied the waters even more when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people convicted of federal crimes, primarily targeting those offenders who would receive lighter sentences under the law now than when they were convicted. Again, the move came under criticism from both sides, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar telling CBS News that the entire presidential pardoning process “cries out for reform because otherwise you undermine the justice system.”
Klobuchar went on to say, “I have no doubt there were some righteous pardons in this group,” and I agree with that. But I also agree with another statement she made, “But there were a number that I think make no sense at all.”
Using a template of conditions for qualifying for clemency instead of individually reviewing each case on its merits led to some outrageous instances of criminals being let out of the sentences thoughtfully and justifiably imposed on them. A sampling includes:
 Duluth head shop owner Jim Carlson, who was found guilty in 2013 of 51 of 55 felony counts for selling synthetic drugs, an amount experts said was enough to create a public health crisis in the city. Carlson’s 17-1/2-year sentence would have kept him incarcerated until 2030, but now he’ll be out of prison next week, albeit under supervised release. St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsey decried the decision on social media: “The decision to commute the sentence is concerning and frustrating, given the damage caused by Carlson’s actions. It contributed to the spread of addiction, increased crime and hurt the safety of our neighborhoods. Local businesses bore the brunt of the disorder that stemmed from his illegal activity. Accountability is a cornerstone of justice, and leniency in cases like this sends the wrong message to those who exploit our communities for personal gain.”
 Former Pennsylvania “kids for cash” judge Michael Conahan, who funneled juveniles to for-profit detention centers in exchange for more than $2 million in kickbacks. Juveniles sentenced to those institutions were often given the maximum sentence possible to ensure the owners a steady revenue stream. One juvenile committed suicide.
“I do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Conahan “deserves to be behind bars, not walking as a free man,” Shapiro said.
 Former Dixon, Ill. comptroller Rita Crudwell, who was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing $54 million from the town of 15,000 people in the largest municipal embezzlement scheme in U.S. history. Crudwell would have been released in 2029, but instead walks free in 2024.
To be clear, the sentences of these three were commuted – they were not pardoned of their crimes. Any restrictions that apply to felons post-incarceration will apply to them. But this boneheaded decision process has again ended up undercutting the principle of accountability in the justice system, a principle already warped and stretched woefully thin by racial disparities in convictions and sentencing, and one that routinely lets drunk drivers, drug users, domestic abusers, white-collar criminals and more off the hook with handslap plea bargains and minimal jail time.
I’ll end with a confession. When it comes to the Pledge of Allegiance, I no longer recite the phrase, “and justice for all” because I don’t believe it to be true. I don’t see justice for all when I look at how justice is meted out for the well-connected, for those who can afford the best attorneys instead of overburdened public defenders, and for those who commit offenses for which we collectively seem to turn a blind eye to as serious crimes anymore. Justice for some, but not for all. Our justice system needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom – the great and likely impossible challenge is finding the will and the resources to do it.