Federal judge did not invalidate Joe Biden's preemptive pardons
The same claim has circulated elsewhere on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, TikTok, Tumblr and Gettr.
Trump has repeatedly sworn "retribution" on political opponents and those who pursued and were involved in criminal prosecutions against him.
Hours before Trump was sworn in as president on January 20, Biden issued a preemptive pardon to his three siblings, along with government officials including retired general Mark Milley, former chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci and lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, members of a congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Biden said the pardons "should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing," arguing they were to prevent the group from becoming targets of malicious prosecution.
The US Constitution gives the president authority to grant pardons to individuals convicted of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment. Although someone can refuse a presidential pardon, there are very few exceptions to the power (archived here).
The Department of Justice's pardon attorney says it is "highly unusual" for a president to pardon an individual before they are indicted or convicted. However, there are several notable examples, such as when president Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974 after the Watergate scandal, but before prosecutors filed charges (archived here).
Biden's younger brother James, who was included in the pardons, has come under scrutiny for some of his past business dealings and allegations of influence peddling.
However, the claim that Biden's pardons have been ruled unconstitutional is false.
Some of the posts contain the logo for the website "America's Last Line of Defense" (ALLOD), a network of satirical news websites that contains the disclaimer "nothing on this page is real."
Christopher Blair, founder of ALLOD, told AFP many share his posts because they "fit with their confirmation-biased narrative of the world." AFP has reported on dozens of false claims that trace back to Blair's sites.
A keyword search reveals one of the sites affiliated with ALLOD has published similar stories about a federal judge named Joseph Barron ruling Biden's pardons unconstitutional, and the organization's Facebook page posted the same graphic the day after Trump's inauguration.
There is also no judge by the name Barron serving on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, nor on the Federal bench in the US states of Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin, over which that appellate court has jurisdiction (archived here and here).
Sites associated with ALLOD have repeatedly used the name "Joseph Barron" in fictitious articles.
AFP has debunked other claims about US politics here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Five dead as 'thunderous' bomb attack hits Colombian city
Colombian authorities said five people were killed and dozens more injured when a truck bomb tore through a busy street in the city of Cali on Thursday, deepening the country's most serious security crisis in decades. Police said the explosion targeted a military aviation school in the city's north -- a fresh challenge to Colombia's fragile peace process ahead of 2026 elections. "There was a thunderous sound of something exploding near the air base," 65-year-old eyewitness Hector Fabio Bolanos told AFP. "There were so many injured people," he said. "Many houses were damaged in front of the base." Cali mayor Alejandro Eder said preliminary reports were that at least five people were killed and 36 people injured. Fearing further explosions, he announced a temporary ban on large trucks entering the city and a US$10,000 reward for information. Several buildings and a local school were evacuated. Cali is Colombia's third-largest city, home to more than two million people, famed for its vibrant salsa-infused nightlife and cartel-tainted past. Eyewitness Alexis Atizabal, 40, said civilians appeared to be among the victims. "There were fatalities among people passing by on the avenue," he said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blast, but Eder blamed it on "narcoterrorists." Many of Colombia's armed groups -- once based on leftist or right-wing ideologies -- are now de facto drug cartels, funding themselves through the lucrative cocaine trade. In June, leftist guerrillas claimed responsibility for a wave of 24 coordinated bomb and gun attacks near Cali that killed seven people. The group, the Central General Staff (EMC), rejected a 2016 peace deal and has upped operations ahead of next year's vote. As yet, the group has not claimed responsibility for Thursday's blast. - 'Most painful days' - Left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and murderous cartels still control pockets of Colombia, but the country has enjoyed a decade or more of relative calm. The 2016 peace deal saw the main rebel group, the FARC, disarm and demobilize after a six-decade-long insurgency. But there has been a recent surge in violence that experts say demonstrates armed groups are regaining strength and the ability to carry out coordinated, complex attacks. Former top security officials have voiced concern that the Colombian intelligence services have lost a step and are no longer able to detect and foil plots. In a seemingly unrelated attack on Thursday, eight people were killed in clashes between guerrillas and police in the northwest of the country. The police officers had been eradicating coca crops near the city of Medellin when a drone was used to down a helicopter. Colombians are fearful of a return to the violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when cartel attacks, guerrilla violence and political assassinations were commonplace. The latest attacks heaped pressure on the government of President Gustavo Petro, whose conciliatory approach to armed groups has been blamed for the uptick in violence. In response to Thursday's attacks, Petro said dissident guerrillas loyal to warlord Ivan Mordisco, another group known as the "Segunda Marquetalia" and the country's largest cartel the Clan del Golfo would be declared "terrorist organizations". Petro is constitutionally barred from running again in next year's elections. Earlier this month, Colombia buried 39-year-old conservative presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was shot in June while campaigning in the capital Bogota. "Our country is going through the darkest, saddest, and most painful days," his widow Maria Claudia Tarazona told the funeral service. Uribe's own mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in a botched 1991 police operation to free her from cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel. lvs-arb/dl
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Newsom's ‘Failures' Under Fire
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening… -Boasberg cleared to rule on CECOT migrant deportations after appeals court decision -Trump reveals plan to patrol Washington streets with police and military forces -Ex-Biden spokesman who called mental fitness doubts a 'conspiracy' only met with him twice: Comer An illegal immigrant who is facing three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida was extradited from California to the Sunshine State on Thursday. "We're here today because of tragedy. Three lives lost, three Floridians' lives ended early," Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins told reporters. "We're here in California because when this tragic accident happened and three Floridian lives were lost, he fled back to California, where, in 2018, he illegally crossed the border, came here and ended up getting a commercial driver's license, a CDL."…Read more DUTY CALLS: Trump's tariff revenue has skyrocketed in just a few months, soaring past 2024 levels PAPER TRAIL: Biden's auto-pen pardons disturbed DOJ brass, docs show, raising questions whether they are legally binding POWER TO THE PARENTS: Trump Department of Education rolls out latest step to expand school choice nationwide 'TOTAL VICTORY': NY appeals court throws out $500M penalty against Trump in Letitia James civil case STRATEGIC BETRAYAL: India strengthening ties with China, Russia after steep US tariffs 'SO DESPERATE': Jasmine Crockett disparages MAGA voters, Trump as 'most unpatriotic people' HEALTHCARE HUSTLE: Trump-aligned legal group probes Biden-era organ transplant program over ethical concerns ICE HEAT: Trump deportation policies spook Pennsylvania city into scrapping immigrant protection vote BALLOTING BATTLE: Swing-state gov slams Trump plan to nix mail-in voting: He 'can sign whatever the hell he wants' BACKFIRED: Expert turns tables on key Mamdani claim about his policing platform: 'So much wrong' CALL OF DUTY: Pentagon taps civilian employees to assist Trump administration immigration enforcement BATTLE LINES: Newsom, California Democrats move to counter Texas redistricting with partisan map FEDS TAKE CHARGE: Trump admin assigns military attorneys to prosecute DC crimes amid federal crackdown Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man arrested in terrifying dawn raid after sharing Facebook posts backing Palestine Action
A man who shared posts on his Facebook page backing Palestine Action has told how he was hauled from his bed by police and arrested on suspicion of breaking terror laws in a terrifying dawn raid. Mat Cobb, 52, a part-time cleaner, is now facing potentially life-changing criminal charges after becoming the latest member of the public to fall foul of the controversial decision to ban the direct-action group. He told The Independent the arrest at his home in Hinckley, Leicestershire, had 'totally blown my mind' after he was handcuffed and taken to a police station on Wednesday morning. Mr Cobb, who has 2,200 followers on his Facebook page, said he had never attended a demonstration or been a member of Palestine Action – now a proscribed terrorist organisation. His arrest comes after more than 500 peaceful protesters were arrested at a demonstration in Parliament Square earlier this month for holding placards supporting the group. Shami Chakrabarti, a former shadow attorney general and civil liberties campaigner, said Mr Cobb's arrest jeopardised public trust in policing and demonstrated the danger of the ongoing ban, which means showing support for the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Palestine Action has won permission to challenge the law in the High Court. The Labour peer added: 'Dawn bedroom raids [like this] highlight the dangers of the ongoing proscription of Palestinian Action. Public trust and policing by consent are in jeopardy while we wait for higher courts to rule on the legality of the ban. Whatever advice informed the original proscription, the Home Secretary would be wise urgently to review it in the light of subsequent events.' She previously warned that the ban risked becoming a 'mistake of poll tax proportions' – a reference to Margaret Thatcher's unpopular policy that triggered civil disobedience and riots. Mr Cobb said two police officers had attended his address a week earlier, but he was away on holiday. They told his housemate there was nothing to worry about. He was still in bed when they returned at 7am on Wednesday. When his housemate answered the door, he said, they barged inside and burst into his bedroom, where he was arrested and handcuffed. Officers also seized his mobile phone. 'I heard my housemate answer the door, then some shouting, then running up the stairs and my housemate shouting 'I'm sorry, Mat', then they came in my room and told me I was under arrest and to put my hands where they can see them. Then they put me in handcuffs.' He was taken to a police station in Leicester where he was put in a holding cell before he was searched, photographed, swabbed for DNA and had his fingerprints taken. In a police interview, officers, who showed Mr Cobb a series of Facebook posts, said he was under investigation for supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation. He was released under investigation at around 1pm, after almost six hours in custody. Mr Cobb described the decision to ban the group as a 'terrifying development', which he hopes will be overturned when Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori brings a judicial review this autumn. 'This is a matter of human rights – not just the right to free speech but the rights of Palestinians as they are being murdered,' he said. 'For the government to respond to this protest by banning the group that's protesting is a terrifying development.' He told The Independent: 'If they are going to proscribe non-violent people for protesting against mass murder, they are tyrants.' The Home Secretary has continued to defend proscribing the direct-action group, repeating claims that an assessment found evidence of 'ideas for further attacks' which cannot be reported due to ongoing legal proceedings. 'Many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear – this is not a non-violent organisation,' said Yvette Cooper. 'UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority.' A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said: 'On Wednesday 20 August, police in Leicestershire made a pre-planned arrest in Hinckley as part of an ongoing investigation. A man has been arrested on suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation, under section 12 (1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000. He has been released under investigation while police continue to carry out enquiries.'
