The top White House staffers who worked under Biden’s administration shed light on the process of mass pardoning marijuana and cannabis, and the rescheduling they assisted with. They also revealed the extent of their involvement in the broader clemency measures that are currently being scrutinized by GOP leaders.
As part of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation into the last administration—which focused on allegations that then-President Joe Biden’s mental and physical health left key executive decisions up to his staff (and his autopen)—several staffers commented on the two rounds of pardons that were issued for people who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses.
Ronald Klain is the former Biden Chief Of Staff. When asked to comment on Biden’s approval of pardon requests he replied that they were “very rare” but the marijuana-clemency cases stood out due to their size. The former Biden chief of staff Ronald Klain was asked about the role of Biden in approving pardon requests. He said “they were very rare,” but the marijuana clemency actions stood out for their scale.
There were no clemencies or pardons in 2021. 2022, there were two sets, as I recall—one in the summer, which was derived from a memo the president had issued trying to reschedule marijuana off of Schedule III to Schedule I, directing the secretary of health and human services and the head of the DEA to reexamine the scheduling of marijuana, and making clear that anyone who was in prison for the mere possession of—in federal prison for the mere possession of marijuana was eligible to apply for a pardon under the memorandum.”
I believe that a handful of pardons have been issued. Klain admitted in an official interview that she was not involved. Klain said that he was only involved with the initial preparation of the memo and not the follow-up of the applications made to the Justice Department or the way they were submitted. [Justice Department] “The president, and other things.”
Former top staffer is referring to an innovative process which was implemented after pardons had been issued. Recipients could then request certification of the clemency.
Klain responded that his personal opinion of pardons did not relate to the President’s competence.
“But I will say that, in 2022, when the president pardoned people for possession of marijuana—or authorized a pardon for people—authorized people to apply for a pardon for that, we looked at a number of these records,” he said. We found very few federal prisoners for simple possession. Most of those in jail had used guns in the commission of their crime.
“Many were violent criminals.” So we were aware that the pardon would not cover all of them. Klain stated that she was “surprised” by the fact that many of those who had committed violent crimes were pardoned.
Anita Dunn also commented on the pardons of the President. She was a senior adviser for communication at the White House. She stated that the only cases of clemency she had been involved in were cannabis-related crimes.
A lawyer representing Dunn clarified in an interview with the committee that while Dunn knew about the process of presidential pardons “clearly, the president is the one who makes the final decision” and her role was largely to provide a recommendation for clemency to Biden.
Neera Tanden who was the Director of White House’s Domestic Policy Council and held other roles during the Obama administration was also interviewed. After being asked whether Biden signed off clemency orders presented to him, she raised the issue of cannabis pardons.
The staff secretary: “I believe that I only dealt with a couple of groups of pardons.” These pardons were for people found in possession of marijuana [convictions] If you had a problem with equity, then it was probably a good idea to consult reputable financial advisors.
She said, “I remember sending a memo to the President and receiving it back.” We followed a set of rules for making decisions by the president. The protocol was set up in the previous administrations I served, and it was to have a memo with a box on top. The decision memo described the decision itself… It said at the top ‘agree,’ ‘disagree’ or ‘to discuss,'” she said.
We also used a card that summarized the decisions and had this card. Both of these were signed traditionally by the President. Tanden stated, “I believe that there were a pardon decision and decision card. This series of pardons took place, I think, around December 2021. Now, I don’t—I just don’t recall the president signing anything directly. “We just made a decision.”
Was it you who was responsible when the pardons were issued or commutations made? You were the person who had to obtain President Biden’s signature for these documents. Interviewer:
They were treated the same as other president’s decisions. So a decision memo came to us. We then edited the memo. It was, as I recall, a written decision, with materials attached for each pardon,” said she. Then we were given a card with a decision. These were the cards I was working on. It was in my decision book. Every day, the president was given a new decision book. “I remember receiving the memo and decision card back.”
Ian Sams, former Special Assistant to the President, was also queried on this issue. He stated that he “couldn’t recall being involved with any pardon communication.”
“I know that during my tenure I think there was a large pardon package around–or a commutation or clemency package around—nonviolent marijuana convicts, people who had been convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses,” he said. “That happened. I wasn’t involved in the communication process. “I was, in general, not involved with the pardoning process.”
Meanwhile, as the marijuana rescheduling proposal initiated under Biden awaits President Donald Trump’s decision, some GOP members of Congress are urging him to move forward with the reform—with one lawmaker taking a jab at Biden by joking that it’s possible the prior administration “must have not been able to find the autopen in time” to complete the cannabis reform process it initiated.
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