Social media platforms have experienced a noticeable surge of frustration and disappointment from devoted followers of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) campaign. This comes in response to President Joe Biden’s seemingly absurd decision to offer clemency to a confessed Chinese national criminal. The criminal, Jin Shanlin, has a record that includes guilt for the possession of thousands of child exploitation materials during the year 2022. It oddly seems that America’s president is somewhat late in his reactions, as both the United States and China had already orchestrated a prisoner exchange involving Shanlin two weeks prior to the outrage.
Despite the outrage from American citizens, the Justice Department’s executive grant gave clemency imposed by Biden to Jin on November 22. Meanwhile, three Americans who had previously experienced successful detainment in China were released, marking a significant point in the country’s resolve against child exploitation crimes. It is still mind-boggling how the Biden administration chose to ignore the enormous negative implications such a decision would have, prioritizing an exchange over the cruelty of the crime committed.
The commutation granted to Jin relates to the phrase, ‘Biden’s overflowing kindness to criminals,’ that trends recently in American political discourse. It shrouds his decision causing a gross misunderstanding, as Jin, who used to be a doctoral scholar at the Southern Methodist University, was slapped with a jail sentence of about 97 months after acknowledging guilt for child exploitation materials. The ruling by a U.S. magistrate judge was delivered in July 2022, and, besides imprisonment, Jin was asked to pay a whopping $30,500 as restitution and a trifling $100 in assessment.
Perhaps implying an unsettling alliance, the reports have it that Jin has close ties with the Communist Party in China. The unsettling leniency shown by the Biden administration towards Jin’s criminal act raised a wave of disconcertment. Fittingly, the sanction necessitated that Jin ‘must leave and remain outside the limits of the United States.’ However, one cannot help but question the rationale behind granting him clemency in the first place.
Showing a healthy level of skepticism, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene took to public platforms to respond to the surprising news with an exposed truth. Using X (previously Twitter) as her chosen outpost, she reasserted the unsettling message about Jin and compared it to a 60 Minutes interview done with Leslie Stahl back in April 2023. Her strong point here: ‘Democrats really are the party of pedophiles.’
Greene put forth additional unsettling claims, indicating that Democrats show a sinister fondness towards ‘grooming children’ and ‘sexualizing children.’ She used the unsettling practice of underage transgender surgeries to enforce her argument, vociferously stating that ‘sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children.’ It is no wonder that such strong positions have stirred a whirlwind of shockwaves within political and social circles alike.
And the discontent did not stop with Greene. Another outcry emerged on X from the user @MJTruthUltra, whom President-elect Donald Trump follows on his reshares. @MJTruthUltra labeled the clemency as ‘just sick,’ echoing Greene’s sentiments with harsh words that touched on a difficult truth: ‘The party of pedophiles protecting pedophiles.’
Another X user, known as Alexandria Brown, also vocalized her difficulty in deciphering the basis for the president’s clemency grant. She expressed her incredulity via a post questioning Biden’s questionable decision making, with an apt quote: ‘I find it difficult to comprehend what grounds there are for clemency.’
In an unrelated decision that left many scratching their heads, Biden announced the commutation of sentences for 1,499 individuals previously released from prison to home confinement during the novel COVID-19 pandemic. By this action, he managed to etch his name in the annals of history for the largest one-day clemency action in modern American history.
It seems Biden also desires to position himself as the forgiving president, as he pardoned 39 more individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes. This he claimed was an effort to promote second chances, and address problems within a criminal justice system that even his administration has struggled to handle. However, this sweeping pardon, especially considering Jin’s case, hints at a misguided attempt at clemency, potentially missing the real core of the issue.
Raising more eyebrows, Biden took the extreme step of pardoning his own son, Hunter, reversing the long-held promise not to use his clemency powers for his family. He argued that his son’s prosecution was politically motivated, thereby raising serious questions about the true purpose behind his clemency grant.
Going forward, President-elect Donald Trump assures he will immediately pardon those convicted due to participation in the unfortunate January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol assault. This news has provoked a mix of reactions, but it undeniably sets a vastly different tone compared to the current state of questionable clemency decisions wafting from Biden’s administration.
Indeed, a month appears far too long to endure the Biden administration’s puzzling decisions as Americans eagerly await the upcoming inauguration day slated for January 20. The hope is for an administration that will employ logical thought processes and duly consider the sentiments of the American public on matters as grave as child exploitation.