NewsNation host Chris Cuomo and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Monday urged President Joe Biden to pardon President-elect Donald Trump.
Cuomo and Smith made their case on “CUOMO” after Biden’s Sunday pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. Although special counsel Jack Smith’s federal cases against Trump have stalled, Smith argued it’s time for the country to move forward and leave Trump’s legal troubles behind.
“You know what else Biden should do?” Cuomo asked. “And I know people gonna get upset about this, but just think about it before you crazy on me. Not you — everybody else. If I were he, I would pardon Trump. I would pardon Trump. I would say this has got to stop.”
“You know something? Honestly, as crazy as this sounds, Chris, that’s exactly what I would do,” Smith replied. “That’s exactly what I would do. Enough’s enough. You know what? You’re the Democrats, you lost the election. You got your butt whipped. You couldn’t prevent him from going back to the White House.”
Smith continued, “More than a dozen cases have been dropped against him. The cases that have been ruled against him, he’s going to appeal, and he’ll probably get off from having to deal with all of that. It’s time to move forward.”
Smith compared such a move by Biden to former President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. He said Ford’s decision was ultimately “for the good of the country.”
On Nov. 25, MSNBC legal analyst Kristy Greenberg commented on the special counsel’s move to dismiss the election interference case against Trump. She noted it left open the possibility for prosecution after Trump’s second term in office.
“In this motion, Jack Smith says that yes, ‘the Constitution requires dismissal in this context, consistent with the temporary nature of immunity afforded to a sitting president, it doesn’t require dismissal with prejudice,’” Greenberg said. “And then goes on to say, ‘immunity from prosecution for sitting president would not preclude such prosecution once the president’s term is over or he is otherwise removed from office by [resignation] or impeachment.’”
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner offered a different perspective. He suggested Trump might evade future prosecution by pardoning himself or arranging for Vice President-elect JD Vance to grant him a pardon.