Former President Joe Biden issued a flurry of pardons during his final days in office, but surprisingly did not grant clemency to Jack Smith, the special counsel who had been investigating former President Donald Trump, or to other figures connected to cases involving Trump.
Trump has frequently targeted those he feels have unjustly targeted him, including Smith, whom he has called “Deranged Jack Smith.” Trump has also assailed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought a case that led to a jury finding Trump guilty of charges of falsifying business records, and New York Judge Juan Merchan, who was involved in Trump’s New York criminal trial.
Trump has called Bragg “Soft on Crime Alvin Bragg” and “Corrupt Soros Funded District Attorney, Alvin Bragg,” and claimed that Merchan was aiming to “RIG the Manhattan Sham ‘Trial.'” In addition, Trump has publicly excoriated Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been investigating Trump for election interference in Georgia. Trump has said that Willis was “corrupt” and that the case is “entirely dead” after the Georgia Court of Appeals declared her disqualified from the case.
It’s worth noting that Biden did not pardon any of these individuals, despite Trump’s frequent criticism of them. Trump has repeatedly called for Biden to pardon him and his associates, but Biden has not taken any action to grant clemency to those connected to Trump.