Biden DOJ flagged president's ‘problematic’ pardons, warned violent inmates could be released

At least one senior official warned the Biden White House that the president’s blanket pardons were problematic because of unclear intent, new internal Justice Department communications show. 

The official, Associate Deputy Attorney General Brad Weinsheimer, told the Office of White House Counsel that unclear directions from the White House on which inmates were covered by his commutation orders could result in unintended consequences, including the release of violent prisoners, contrary to President Joe Biden’s public statements. 

“I think the language ‘offenses described to the Department of Justice’ in the warrant is highly problematic and in order to resolve its meaning appropriately, and consistent with the President’s intent, we will need a statement or direction from the President as to how to interpret the language,” Weinsheimer wrote to the White House. 

Weinsheimer also warned the White House that if no clarification was received it is possible that the commutations could be rendered ineffective by the incoming Trump administration. 

“In essence, describing offenses to the Department is a condition precedent to the commutations being effective, and without a description, they do not take effect,” he said. “I have no idea what interpretation the incoming Administration will give to the warrant, but they may find this interpretation attractive, as it gives effect to the language but does not go beyond the four corners of the warrant."

The communications were obtained by the Oversight Project and released publicly on Tuesday.  

You can read the emails below: 

Weinsheimer also warned the White House that Biden was misleading the public when he claimed that his clemency actions applied only to non-violent offenders. 

“One other important note – in communication about the commutations, the White House has described those who received commutations as people convicted of non-violent drug offenses," he wrote. "I think you should stop saying that because it is untrue or at least misleading. 

“As you know, even with the exceedingly limited review we were permitted to do of the individuals we believed you might be considering for commutation action, we initially identified 19 that were highly problematic."

He also listed “dozens” of drug offenders to which Biden’s order would apply who had a history of violence including killings of police officers, murder, and assault surrounding their drug crimes. 

“I have no idea if the President was aware of these backgrounds when making clemency decisions, the Department was largely excluded from the process, which we otherwise opposed,” Weinsheimer wrote. 

Among those who received clemency are Russell McIntosh, responsible for killing a woman and her 2-year-old child to protect his drug operation; Steven Fowler, who ordered someone tortured, and Plaze Anderson, who was implicated in murders and kidnappings. 

Biden has come under fire for his administration’s use of an autopen to sign commutation warrants and other official orders. 

Congressional Republicans are probing the administration’s use of the autopen, especially in light of the former president’s apparent mental decline during his final years in office. 

“It's questionable whether or not it's legal to use an autopen on a legal document, but what's not questionable is if the President of the United States had no idea what was being signed with using the autopen in his name,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer previously told Just the News. “Then, you know, that's not legal."