Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 12 The Washington Post says Joe Biden shouldn't use preemptive pardons President Joe Biden used his pardon power on Thursday as the Constitution’s framers had intended: as a pre-Christmas act of mercy. He commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who were released to home confinement during the pandemic and whom the president believes have successfully readjusted into society. He pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes, such as drug offenses, following a case-by-case review of their applications. This is a stark contrast to Mr. Biden’s ill-considered pardon of his son Hunter and to the misguided notion, still under discussion within the White House, of preemptive pardons for people who might be at risk of vindictive prosecution by President-elect Donald Trump. Though Mr. Biden has the prerogative to confer broad immunity with what are sometimes called safe harbor or protective pardons, doing...