By Jake Kaplan
Here are some of the legal news stories making headlines this week:
On Wednesday, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, and Kamala Harris was sworn in as the 49th vice president of the United States.
- On his first day as President, Biden issued 17 executive orders on issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration, and climate change.Â
- For her part, Vice President Harris swore in three new Democratic Senators â giving Democrats control over the chamber and making Senator Chuck Schumer the majority leader.
- White House press secretary Jen Psaki held the first Biden administration press briefing, and, in an effort to increase transparency, signaled her intention to hold a briefing every weekday.
Meanwhile, President Trump used his final hours in office to grant clemency to 144 individuals. Trump issued 74 pardons, and he commuted the sentences of 70 people.Â
- Trump issued a pardon to his former campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, who was indicted on fraud charges by SDNY last year for his involvement in a fundraising scheme to build a wall at the US-Mexico border. The other defendants in that case did not receive pardons.
- Other clemency grantees included top GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy and a group of former congressmen: Rick Renzi of Arizona, Robert Hayes of North Carolina, and Randall âDukeâ Cunningham of California. Trump also pardoned rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.Â
- Notably, Trump refrained from issuing preemptive pardons for himself, his family members, and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. In addition, Trump did not grant clemency to high-profile figures including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whistleblower Edward Snowden, and former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver (who was prosecuted in SDNY when Preet was U.S. Attorney).
- Trumpâs grants of clemency also included a number of individuals who received support from criminal justice reform advocates, such as Darrell Frazier and Lavonne Roach, who were both convicted of drug charges.
