Sen. Amy Klobuchar says presidential pardon process “cries out for reform”

washington – Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said Sunday that everything presidential pardon process “cries out for reform” after some controversial commutations and pardons made by President Biden, including when the president issued a blanket pardon to his own son, Hunter.

“This whole process is crying out for reform because if you don’t, you’re undermining the justice system,” Klobuchar said he said in “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

The White House announced early Thursday that President Biden was commuting the sentence nearly 1,500 peoplemarking the largest clemency granted by a president in a single day. Among the individuals, many of whom had been confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, were some who have sparked controversy in recent days, including a judge involved in the so-called “Kids for Cash” scheme.

Klobuchar chimed in that he “didn’t like that,” adding that he disagreed with all pardons and commutations.

“I have no doubt that there were some fair pardons in this group,” Klobuchar said. “But there was a number that I don’t think makes any sense.”

Also, he said he didn’t agree Mr. Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunterearlier this month.

Klobuchar noted that he also disagrees with a series of pardons that President-elect Donald Trump made during his first term. And the Minnesota Democrat said that while the ability to pardon is part of the Constitution and has a long history of saying it won’t be changed, she would advocate for reforms.

“We should have some kind of external board that the governors have,” he said. “Governors have the ability to give people clemency after years have passed, but a lot of them have boards that make recommendations and stuff, rather than people doing it in the middle of the night.”

Klobuchar suggested that over a one-year period, a board could examine individual requests instead of large groups, which she said undermines the work of FBI agents and prosecutors who took on the cases.

“Could you want mercy 10 years later?” Klobuchar said. “Yeah, maybe. But let’s at least look at them on a factual, risk basis, instead of just in the middle of the night a month before a president leaves.”