Dem senator divides party over controversial pardon proposal: 'I don’t think it makes sense'
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., called for an end to the presidential pardon through a post on X on Monday."I’ve been in support of getting rid of a presidential pardon for...
By Fox News · Fox News
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., called for an end to the presidential pardon through a post on X on Monday. "I’ve been in support of getting rid of a presidential pardon for either party. I don’t think it makes sense in the modern world. And we just saw why it’s a problem last week," Slotkin said. "Last week, Donald Trump pardoned the CEO of a cryptocurrency company called Binance. This CEO had invested heavily in President Trump’s family crypto venture. I didn’t like it when Democrats did it, I don’t like it when Republicans do it," Slotkin said. While many Democrats in the House of Representatives shared Slotkin's concerns about the pardon's use, members of the Judiciary Committee were split over whether lawmakers should eliminate the power outright. FELON FREED BY BIDEN ARRESTED AFTER SHOOTING, RAISING FEARS OF MORE ‘SECOND CHANCES’ GONE WRONG President Donald Trump’s pardoning of Changpeng Zhao, a tech billionaire who had been convicted of facilitating money laundering, is just the most recent controversy over the pardon power. Trump’s pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riots — coupled with former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardoning of his own family — have invited questions about its proper use. In light of Trump's record on the power, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he agreed with Slotkin. "I one thousand percent agree with her," Lieu said. "It’s been abused." JOHNSON ARGUES BIDEN PARDONS 'INVALID' AFTER BOMBSHELL AUTOPEN REPORT Other members said they had reservations about throwing it out completely. "In the past we have had presidents that have used pardons with a lot of thoughtfulness," Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., said. "We are now in an abnormal situation with a very rogue president who is not accountable to the American people or to Congress." "I’m not trying to throw the baby out with the bath water. I do think it is a [power] that should be reserved because it’s been used actually with a lot o…