Biden’s Pardons and a Last Broken Norm

President Biden’s parting shot to democratic norms was announced Monday at 11:38 a.m., or 22 minutes before his constitutional term ended at high noon. Citing “unrelenting attacks” on his family, Mr. Biden issued pre-emptive, unconditional pardons for his siblings and their spouses, blanket immunity for any “nonviolent offenses” they might have committed since 2014.

Hours earlier, Mr. Biden granted similar unqualified clemency to some prominent critics of President Trump, including Gen. Mark Milley and the Members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing,” Mr. Biden said. The same can’t honestly be said of his son, Hunter, who got a blanket pardon last month.