Final Word from Monday, December 9, 2024

The full and unconditional pardon granted on Dec. 1 by U.S. Pres. Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Robert Hunter Biden was unusual not only because Hunter is the president's son, but also because it applied not only to the existing gun and tax charges against Hunter, but also to any other crimes he may have committed or taken part in from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. This was widely seen as a way to prevent the Trump administration from bringing new charges against Hunter. According to Politico and the New York Times, there are now senior-level discussions about preemptive pardons for other people in the Biden administration that Donald Trump might target. Given the similarities between Trump-era politics in the U.S. and Babiš-era politics in the CR, it's probably only a matter of time before people in the government of Petr Fiala start thinking about how to protect themselves from retaliation from a trigger-happy justice minister in a government of Andrej Babiš. Art. 63 of the Czech Constitution could perhaps be used to grant such blanket presidential pardons, but all those who feared prosecution would of course have to step forward. [ Czech Republic Joe United States ANO ODS ]