Washington, Jan 17: US President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences, using his final days in office on a flurry of clemency actions meant to nullify prison terms he deemed too harsh.
The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued.
The Democrat said he is seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice”.
“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement.
“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars.” The White House did not immediately release the names of those receiving commutations.
Still, Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to “continue to review additional commutations and pardons”.
Friday’s action follows Biden’s commutations last month of the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes.
That was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.
All of this comes as Biden continues to weigh whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s administration.
Though presidential pardoning powers are absolute, such a preemptive move would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power.
Last month, Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. Trump has vowed to roll back that order after his term begins.
Biden won’t enforce TikTok ban, official says
President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a US official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by January 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law – and the potential enforcement of the ban – to Trump. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.
Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the US, though his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration and be granted a prime seating location on the dais as the president-elect’s national security adviser signals that the incoming administration may take steps to “keep TikTok from going dark.” Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday told Fox News Channel that the federal law that could ban TikTok by Sunday also “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table.”
The push to save TikTok, much like the move to ban it in the US, has crossed partisan lines. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he spoke with Biden on Thursday to advocate for extending the deadline to ban TikTok. (AP)