(RealClearPolitics)—That same day, Trump pardoned 1,500 people who were convicted or facing trial for the Jan. 6 riot.
The media’s coverage of these pardons has been dramatically different. Take the New York Times, which describes Biden’s preemptive pardons as a way to “guard” from a “promised campaign of ‘retribution’ by his incoming successor, Donald J. Trump.”
But after the 2020 election, the Times accused President Trump of using his power to “apply his own standard of justice for his allies.” That included Paul Manafort, his 2016 campaign chairman, and Roger J. Stone Jr., his longtime informal adviser and friend. Another beneficiary was a family member, Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The New York Times quoted this week the older brother of Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died naturally from a stroke the day after Jan. 6. “The message to me is that the United States is no longer a nation under the rule of law and anything goes,” Craig Sicknick was quoted as saying.
News coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC spent 46 minutes and 32 seconds covering Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons but only three minutes and 32 seconds on Biden pardoning his family.
Overall, Biden has pardoned and commuted sentences for a record 4,245 criminals, including 37 murderers on death row. Some of these individuals are mass murderers, child rapists, and torturers who then murdered their victims, and many have never expressed remorse.
While the pardons by both Biden and Trump are controversial, there are big differences between them.
The cases against the Jan. 6 defendants overwhelmingly involved legal system abuses. A politicized Department of Justice brought charges before juries in the District of Columbia that were heavily biased against Republicans and a circuit court that Democrats heavily control. The jury pool was from a district where Biden had received over 92% of the vote in 2020. Prosecutors with infinite budgets prosecuted ordinary people who didn’t have the resources to defend themselves.
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The Biden Department of Justice clearly overcharged these defendants. For example, when a case finally got to the U.S. Supreme Court (Fisher v. United States), the court sternly reprimanded the Biden Department of Justice, saying a statute dealing with corporate fraud clearly shouldn’t have been used against more than several hundred defendants. Finally, the Department of Justice never gave defense lawyers 44,000 hours of video evidence. It isn’t a prosecutor’s job to determine what you think might be helpful to defense lawyers.
Trump’s pardons of those who engaged in violence during the riot, particularly those who had hurt police, generated the most controversy. But even here, there was a two-tiered system of justice.
While approximately 140 officers were assaulted in the Jan. 6 riot (it isn’t clear how many were injured), the June 2020 Lafayette Square riot and attack on the White House, by contrast, injured at least 150 law enforcement officers. Despite constant claims to the contrary in the Jan. 6 riot, no officers were killed in either riot. But while the J6 defendants spent significant time in prison, none of the Lafayette Square rioters were prosecuted, let alone sentenced.
While the Jan. 6 riot was viewed as an insurrection against our government, people scaled the White House fence during the Lafayette Square riot, and the Secret Service felt the threat was sufficient to move Trump to a secure location.
Unlike Trump, Biden pardoned family members. After the 2020 election, Biden was critical of the idea that Trump might give preemptive pardons to family members and others. He criticized Trump for possibly doing what he ended up doing himself. The pardons of Biden’s family members entailed possible crimes of corruption and money laundering involving tens of millions of dollars.
Who was more transparent with the American people? Multiple times last year, Biden and his administration promised that Biden wouldn’t pardon his son. After the 2020 election, Biden promised that he would never offer preemptive pardons, such as what he ended up giving his family members. Indeed, he condemned the very idea. By contrast, Trump consistently campaigned on pardoning Jan. 6 rioters.
Biden’s pardons of family members were preemptive and covered crimes dating back more than a decade. The Jan. 6 rioters have met a very different fate, having already faced years of punishment.
Thirty-four rioters were convicted of violence, including overrunning a police barricade. The average person was arrested 43 months ago and given a sentence of 107 months. Few were allowed to make bail. One person, Daniel Ball, was still awaiting trial after sitting in custody for 21 months when he was pardoned.
Ten rioters were convicted of assaulting police officers (Julian Khater, Peter Schwartz, Christopher Quaglin, James Tate Grant, Michael Bradley, Robert Scott Palmer, Ryan Samsel, Steven Chase Randolph, Thomas Harlen Smith, and Tyler Bradley Dykes). They faced an average sentence of 90 months (7.5 years) and have been incarcerated for an average of 40 months since their arrests.
Some of the most severe penalties were reserved for two former police officers (Thomas Robertson and Thomas Webster), who fought their way through the police barricades. They were sentenced to 72 and 120 months and were both held for a total of 48 months.
Many of those sentenced to prison were let into the Capitol by police and did not engage in violence, but they still suffered long prison terms. Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman,” was actually brought by police to the Senate floor and appeared to peacefully talk to officers, but he was still sentenced to 41 months in prison.
Prison is only a part of the penalties that the rioters faced. Many were bankrupted by legal costs – something Trump’s pardon will never be able to restore.
The family members and others that Biden preemptively pardoned will never face any criminal penalties. By contrast, the Jan. 6 rioters have already served significant sentences.
John R. Lott Jr. is a contributor to RealClearInvestigations, focusing on voting and gun rights. His articles have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. Lott is an economist who has held research and/or teaching positions at the University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford, UCLA, Wharton, and Rice.
Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
- You acquire more actual gold or silver per dollar invested. Numismatics divert a large share of your money into rarity premiums and massive sales commission, reducing your metal exposure.
- Selling bullion involves tight bid-ask spreads, so you recover nearly full spot value with minimal fees. Collectibles require finding the right buyer and may sell at a discount if demand for that specific item weakens.
- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
- Standardized coins and bars store efficiently and divide easily for partial sales. Rare coins often need protective slabs and controlled conditions, adding hassle and expense.
- Bullion enjoys worldwide acceptance. A 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Eagle sells quickly to dealers anywhere. Niche numismatic pieces may appeal only to limited buyers, slowing liquidation when speed matters.
In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.