Category: Joe Biden

President Joe Biden is looking to make some money now that he’s retired from public service. I haven’t seen anything about a new book deal, but I imagine that’s top of his list, getting a deal for his presidential memoir. But who knows – maybe President Biden is also looking to start a production company or finance some Broadway musicals! CAA will be able to help facilitate it, because he’s just signed up to be represented by them.

Joe Biden has signed with Creative Artists Agency for representation as he begins his post-presidential era.

“President Biden is one of America’s most respected and influential voices in national and global affairs,” said Richard Lovett, co-chairman of CAA. “His lifelong commitment to public service is one of unity, optimism, dignity, and possibility. We are profoundly honored to partner with him again.”

Lovett, along with fellow co-chairs Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, have been among Hollywood’s prominent backers of Biden and Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign as well as other Democratic candidates. The Century City-based mega agency already reps his White House predecessor, Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, as well as Democratic-leaning pols like Joe Manchin, Susan Rice, Beto O’Rourke and many others across the aisle as part of its speakers bureau.

And the move for the Delaware politician marks a homecoming for Biden and the agency, which had repped him during his post-vice presidential wilderness years from 2017 through his 2020 victory over Donald Trump. In that time, Biden published a book, Promise Me, Dad, reflecting on his eldest son Beau’s battle with cancer, as well as embarked on a nationwide paid tour.

Biden formally oversaw the transition of power on Jan. 20 to the second Trump administration and hasn’t yet unveiled typical post-presidential moves like a book deal or speaking gigs (or any sort of first-look or streaming deal).

[From THR]

Honestly, I would imagine that at this stage of life, Biden is going to be more focused on enjoying his retirement, spending time with Jill and their grandchildren and grilling by the beach. But yeah, this is probably more about getting a book deal and maybe doing some paid speaking gigs. I would imagine that he needs some financial backing for his presidential library too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

President Joe Biden has been especially active in his final days in office. This week, he gave his farewell address and spoke about the rising American oligarchy, as well as the tech industrial complex. He also spearheaded a long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, which was finalized this week. And now this: what will probably be his final sweep of pardons and commutations. President Biden got a lot of sh-t after Thanksgiving last year when he announced a full and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter Biden. Since then, people have been on “pardon watch” and Pres. Biden has given them a lot to talk about. In December, Biden did sweeping pardons of 1,500 people, mostly people with nonviolent drug-related convictions. He just did another round of commutations today – 2,500 people will have their sentences commuted.

President Biden announced on Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses, the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president.

The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would under current practices, a move aimed at reversing longstanding criminal justice disparities, Mr. Biden said. Those disparities disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, many experts say.

“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

Mr. Biden said he would consider additional pardons, which wipe out convictions, and commutations, which leave the guilty verdict intact but reduce some or all of the punishment, in the coming days. Among others, Mr. Biden has been considering pre-emptive pardons for a number of former elected officials and other people his successor, President-elect Donald J. Trump, may target for political retribution.

Mr. Biden said his latest commutations would help those who received sentences based on now-discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, or faced inflated charges for drug crimes. Mr. Biden said in his statement that he was following the lead of Congress, which over the past two decades has passed legislation to remedy decades-long disparities spurred by tough-on-crime laws, such as mandatory minimum sentences.

[From The NY Times]

Good. I’m glad he’s doing this and I’m glad he’s been highlighting the issue of drug sentencing and the changes already being made at the state and federal level over mandatory-minimum drug sentencing. I hope he pardons or commutes every nonviolent drug offender, honestly. F–k it. As for the chatter about whether Pres. Biden will issue preemptive pardons to people in Trump’s crosshairs… I don’t know. I will be very curious to see if it happens and whether it would make a difference either way.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.