President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of terrorist Mufid Abdulqader, Breitbart reported. He is the half-brother of Khaled Mashaal, the billionaire Hamas leader, and was convicted of funneling money to the terrorist organization.
Abdulqader's clemency came among a slew of others from Biden this week. With the stroke of a pen, Biden issued 39 pardons and commuted the sentences of 1,500 convicts.
Among them was Abdulqader, who was convicted in 2008 along with four others of using an American Muslim charity, Holy Land Foundation, to fund the terror group with its donations. Also named in that case was the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Notably, CAIR had a hand in softening the Biden-Harris administration's stance on antisemitism. Some believe Abdulqader's was about more than mercy.
The release of Abdulqader comes as hostage negotiations continue following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It's possible that his release is part of that larger effort that is still underway to exchange hostages.
President-elect Donald Trump is already working on the problem and has increased pressure on Hamas to let some of their hostages go free. "Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it’s all talk, and no action!" Trump said on his Truth Social earlier this month.
The incoming president promised "there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity" if they're not released by his inauguration. "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!" Trump urged.
It's quite possible that Biden is attempting to save face by brokering backdoor deals before Trump assumes office. However, this decision to commute a terror sponsor's sentence comes amid several other similarly questionable actions from Biden.
According to Fox News, Biden has made controversial choices about who to give presidential pardons and sentence commutations to in the waning weeks of his presidency. Predictably, one of those pardons included his son, Hunter Biden who had serious gun and tax charges, among others not yet filed.
The president also made history for the sheer number of these moves, and it doesn't look like he'll be stopping anytime soon. "I will take more steps in the weeks ahead," Joe Biden promised.
"My Administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances," he added. Joe Biden notched the record for granting the most clemency requests in a single day.
Some of the sentences commuted were for inmates placed on house arrest during the pandemic who "have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities," the president's announcement said. The White House has made it clear that the 39 pardons were for nonviolent offenders.
Joe Biden has nothing to lose in granting all of these requests as he departs from the White House. Unfortunately, the nation will suffer with people like Abdulqader now set free and possibly others who are even worse.
