Cruz Letter to DOJ on Biden Pardons: “A Direct and Unprecedented Assault on Our Constitutional Order”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in support of the Department of Justice's investigation into the Biden Administration's mass pardons, and committing to ensure the Department has all necessary resources to ensure the success of those investigations.

Excerpts and highlights from the letter:

"Reports suggest that Biden-Harris officials took advantage of the decline in the President's mental acuity, coupled with the chaos of the Presidential transition, to implement sweeping, fringe, progressive policies on crime and law enforcement, and to usurp authorities solely reserved for the President and which he is forbidden from delegating.

"These and other reports suggest that Biden-Harris officials took advantage of the decline in the President's mental acuity, coupled with the chaos of the Presidential transition, to implement sweeping, fringe, progressive policies on crime and law enforcement, and to usurp authorities solely reserved for the President and which he is forbidden from delegating. Such an act would constitute a direct and unprecedented assault on our Constitutional order.

"The Department of Justice is engaged in what will no doubt be multi-year investigations to establish transparency and accountability regarding those acts, and I reiterate that I stand ready to provide whatever resources are necessary to ensure the success of those investigations."

Click here to read the full letter.

BACKGROUND

On December 12^th, 2024, the Biden administration commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 inmates and pardoned 39 others, and on January 17^th, 2025, the administration issued 2,490 additional commutations, more in a single day than any President had ever granted over an entire presidency. These clemencies were issued based on broad criteria rather than case-by-case evaluations, and at least some were signed using an autopen of then-President Biden's signature. In June, Senator Cruz participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to investigate the issue.