The Hill Scolds Trump's Pardons, Ignores Biden's Israeli Aid Waiver
While The Hill critiques Trump's hypothetical expanded pardon powers—a valid journalistic pursuit—they conveniently sidestep more immediate, concrete actions. Just this past week, President Biden utilized an emergency authority waiver (Public Law 87-195, Section 506(a)(2)), allowing his administration to bypass congressional review for $147.5 million in tank ammunition sales to Israel. This move,
executed on December 9, 2023, for the second time in a month, ensures a continuous flow of weaponry to a conflict zone that human rights organizations increasingly describe as undergoing ethnic cleansing. One might wonder if the 'abuse of power' discussion is reserved for actions that don't involve sending billions in aid to U.S.-backed conflicts. This administration's use of a legal loophole to
expedite arms sales directly circumvents democratic oversight, yet somehow doesn't warrant the same hand-wringing on The Hill's opinion pages. Apparently, some executive 'expansions' are more newsworthy than others, especially when they funnel taxpayer dollars and weaponry overseas without the messy inconvenience of public debate.