There have been a lot of questions about the pardons that Joe Biden allegedly issued, including questions about the autopen usage. 

A recent report has raised concerns about commutations granted by Biden during his last days in office. The details emerge from messages acquired by the Oversight Project and examined by several media outlets, including The New York Post.

Top officials at the DOJ expressed confusion over which offenses were actually included in the commutations. Associate Deputy Attorney General Brad Weinsheimer sought “a list for each inmate detailing the offenses affected by the commutation.”

Weinsheimer noted the problematic nature of the language “offenses described to the Department of Justice” in the warrant. To interpret it properly and align with the President’s intention, he stressed that a statement or guidance from the President was necessary. In a Jan. 18 email to the White House Counsel’s Office and the DOJ Pardon Attorney’s Office, he mentioned that clarification from Biden would aid in understanding “the warrant language’s meaning.”

If you’re not clear on what is covered in a commutation, that could be a big problem in trying to carry it out. 

Then, there was another big problem that the official reportedly had. 

He also advised that communications from the White House inaccurately portrayed recipients of the commutations as individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses, urging them to stop using that description as it was either false or misleading.

He said they had identified at least 19 “highly problematic” commutations.

The DOJ official further pointed out that they had found “violent offenders” among those granted commutations, noting that these included individuals who committed violent acts during their conviction or had a history of violence, making the characterization as nonviolent drug offenders misleading.

He said that was just of what they had reviewed at that point, and that there were likely more problematic cases.

Weinsheimer expressed frustration that despite numerous requests and cautions, they were not given a fair chance to review or provide feedback on those under consideration for commutations.

“And as you know, we only were provided the actual warrants and information on those for whom the President was granting clemency minutes before you posted the list online.”

He was not the only one who had questions. Then-DOJ Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer complained as well. 

“I know I sound like a broken record, but our incoming is nonstop, and folks are becoming increasingly upset and concerned, including congressional staff, US Courts/Probation, and stakeholder orgs. I have no explanation to offer them as to why a list is not available. Would greatly appreciate any update,” she wrote.

Elysa Wan of the DOJ’s Criminal Division seemed to have a problem similar to Weinsheimer, asking Oyer and White House associate counsel DeAnna Evans about the lack of clarity.  

“The attached warrant states, ‘I hereby commute to a term of [X] months’ imprisonment the sentence of imprisonment, for the offenses described to the Department of Justice, imposed upon XX.’ We do not know how to interpret ‘offenses described to the Department of Justice.’ Could you please clarify?” she wrote in the email.

Sounds like all these folks were doing the best they could to figure out what the heck was going on and do their jobs. But if the direction wasn’t clear, there’s only so much they can do. Also, if Biden is telling us these commutations were non-violent people when some of them were not, that’s a big problem.