The Biden administration is facing renewed scrutiny after the Oversight Project released internal Justice Department emails showing senior officials knew that commutations issued in President Biden’s name were legally flawed and misrepresented to the public.
Former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer, a 34-year DOJ veteran, warned colleagues that the White House’s public claim — that the commutations were limited to “non-violent drug offenders” — was “untrue or at least misleading.” Despite his objections, thousands of inmates were granted clemency, including convicted murderers, violent drug traffickers, and gang leaders.
High-Level Disagreement Within Biden’s DOJ
The emails, obtained from the Office of the Pardon Attorney, show fundamental internal opposition to the January 17 commutations, which were issued using an autopen signature. Weinsheimer flagged at least 19 “highly problematic” felons who had histories of violence. Sixteen of them still received clemency.
Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News:
“This is the first written black and white evidence of fundamental disagreement in the Biden camp as it relates to the pardon strategy writ large.”
Howell added that even top DOJ lawyers believed the commutations were not only misleading but possibly unlawful.
Violent Criminals Among Clemency Recipients
Contrary to Biden’s claim, the list of released inmates included individuals convicted of heinous crimes:
-
Terrence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, drug traffickers linked to a police officer’s death.
-
Russell McIntosh, who murdered a woman and her 2-year-old child.
-
Adrian Peeler, tied to the killing of an 8-year-old witness and his mother.
-
Plaze Anderson, a Gangster Disciples leader involved in multiple murders and kidnappings.
Despite these violent backgrounds, the commutations were celebrated by groups like the ACLU as “progress toward justice.”
Legal Questions About Autopen Clemency
The internal DOJ discussion also revealed confusion over the legality of the warrants. One commutation document referred to “offenses described to the Department of Justice,” yet no specific offenses were listed. Weinsheimer argued that without description, the commutations “do not take effect.”
This error could allow courts or the incoming Trump administration to challenge or nullify the clemency orders altogether.
Broader Implications
The revelations call into question not only Biden’s honesty with the American people but also the legal foundation of thousands of commutations. Critics argue that if the commutations were improperly issued, violent offenders should be rearrested immediately.
As Howell noted, “It’s time for legal action based on autopen.”
If pursued, this scandal could become one of the most consequential controversies of Biden’s presidency, undermining his claims of pursuing criminal justice reform while raising concerns of deception and constitutional overreach.
DailyClout.io will continue to follow this story.
Sources and further reading:
https://www.theblaze.com/news/doj-emails-biden-commutations
https://oversightproject.org/reports/doj-emails-biden-clemency-scandal
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/biden-clemency-emails-doj
https://nypost.com/2025/08/19/politics/doj-emails-show-biden-misled-public-on-commutations/
The post DOJ Emails Reveal Biden Misled Nation on Commutations appeared first on DailyClout.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Sean Probber
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://dailyclout.io and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
