The White House revealed on Monday that President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter partly because he was likely to suffer further harassment from political adversaries. Still, critics described the decision as all wrong, with some of Biden’s Democratic party supporters arguing that it erodes public confidence in the administration of justice.
Hunter Biden is a Democrat and his father Joe Biden presently serving as the US president whose term will expire on January 20 after being succeeded by Republican President-elect Donald Trump Both Joe Biden and Hunter Biden did not mention anything about any conditions of the pardon on Sunday, Joe Biden said he thought the president’s political opponents have been selective in prosecuting Hunter Biden. Biden has stated so in the past, including in June when he was told to rule out the possibility of him pardoning his son, to which he said yes. nets, but his move drew fierce criticism, with some Democrats saying it undermined public trust in the rule of law.
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Biden, a Democrat whose term ends on January 20 when Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, signed an unconditional pardon for Hunter Biden on Sunday and said he believed his son had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president’s political opponents.
Biden said in the past that he would not pardon his son, including to ABC News in June when he was asked if he would rule it out and replied “yes.”
His sudden action was criticized by his Republican political rivals, as well as Democrats who said this move undermined the public’s confidence in the courts, a notion that Biden and his Democratic party had aggressively waged war on Trump over. Hunter was charged with tax offenses and charges touching on possession of a firearm after the Republicans in Congress targeted him for years, accusing him of conducting business using his father’s name, but without producing direct links. of law.
Biden, a Democrat whose term ends on January 20 when Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, signed an unconditional pardon for Hunter Biden on Sunday and said he believed his son had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president’s political opponents.
Biden said in the past that he would not pardon his son, including to ABC News in June when he was asked if he would rule it out and replied “yes.”
His surprise move was panned by his Republican political opposition, but also by Democrats who said it eroded trust in the judicial system, a concept Biden and his party had used to criticize Trump.
Hunter was prosecuted for tax offenses and charges related to possession of a firearm after being targeted for years by Republicans in Congress who accused him of making business deals using his father’s name but failed to establish any clear connections.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the move on Monday, saying that Biden thought Hunter would continue to receive more suffering from his opponents.
Jean-Pierre was among the White House officials who time and again have insisted that Biden will not pardon his son.
That is why the president did the pardon because, they, his political … opponents did not look like they would let go of it. It gave an impression that they wouldn’t move on,” she said during the flight on Air Force One to Angola. believed Hunter faced further grief from his adversaries, who she did not name.
Jean-Pierre was among the White House officials who had repeatedly said in the past Biden would not pardon his son.
“One of the reasons the president did the pardon is because they didn’t seem like — his political … opponents — would let go of it. It didn’t seem like they would move on,” she told reporters on Air Force One during a trip to Angola.
“They would continue to go after his son.’ That’s what he believed.”
Jean-Pierre emphasized that this was not the first case when a president decided to pardon a relative. Bill Clinton granted Roger, his half-brother, a pardon before the expiry of his term and Trump granted it to Charles Kushner, father-in-law to Ivanka Trump. further grief from his adversaries, who she did not name.
Jean-Pierre was among the White House officials who had repeatedly said in the past Biden would not pardon his son.
“One of the reasons the president did the pardon is because they didn’t seem like — his political … opponents — would let go of it. It didn’t seem like they would move on,” she told reporters on Air Force One during a trip to Angola.
“They would continue to go after his son. That’s what he believed.”
Jean-Pierre stressed this was not the first time a president had pardoned a family member. Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger before he left office, and Trump his daughter’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner.
Jean-Pierre said Biden approved of the Department of Justice while Biden described his son’s process in the judicial system as being politically infected.
“Two things could be true: the president does believe in the justice … system and … Department of Justice, and he also believes that his son was singled out politically,” she said.
She would not elaborate further on why or how Biden had changed his mind, or even whether the election that placed Republicans in the presidency and both houses of Congress played a role.
Biden was once again accused by Republicans of having told a lie. Democrats divided, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he sacrificed his family for his country, and former US Attorney General Eric Holder said that the pardon was deserved.
“ Joe Biden has a chance to do more than fend for his own.” He can extend the same empathy he had for his son to millions of people rotting in prison for nonviolent crimes,” Black Lives Matter wrote on X, the app that replaced Twitter.
New York Times said that Biden was worried that trials might affect his son’s sobriety and the impression one got from all this was that only the pardoning was on the table.
Hunter Biden accepted federal tax charges in September in front of a federal judge in Los Angeles and was set to be sentenced on December 16 by Mark C. Scarsi, a judge nominated by Trump’s predecessor, Donald Trump. In June, a jury convicted him of lying on a gun background form; the defendant was to be sentenced for the offenses earlier in July as well. Carsi, a judge nominated by Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
A jury found him guilty in June of making false statements on a gun background check; he was due to be sentenced for those charges this month as well.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Biden resented that his son had been selectively prosecuted and treated differently than such people.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any other conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out only because he was the son of the president and that is wrong,” he said.
Early on Monday, Hunter Biden’s lawyer officially withdrew the cases against his client.
FAQs
Why did President Biden pardon his son?
The White House stated that the pardon was influenced by concerns over potential political persecution and to ensure fairness in justice, reflecting broader themes of clemency in criminal justice reform.
What were Hunter Biden’s charges?
He faced convictions for tax-related issues and firearms offenses.