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I don't love it either, but I'm not sure how you tell a man that he should let his only surviving son rot in prison to respect norms, institutions, and the rule of law, when the country you devoted your life to serving just pretty comprehensively voted they don't give a shit about any of that.

Nah, I’m afraid this is crazy from Biden. Of course on a personal level it’s understandable. But it’s otherwise disastrous.

The norm that you shouldn’t do it. He’s weakened it, perhaps fatally, because now neither side is resisting the descent.

Ford pardoned Nixon. Trump Pardoned Kushner's father and other criminals. There's no norm, never has been.

How far there is a norm is up for debate. But the fact that it’s been breached before doesn’t make the case.

Yes, very real chance that future Democratic Presidents on their way out of office also pardon their children for non-violent offences. The Republic hath fallen.

Don’t be silly, I’m not making a difficult claim. If you want to protect a democratic norm then it makes a big difference whether one party continues to respect it or both give up on it (however different the specifics).