President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden on December 1st, going against his previous response to his son’s criminal charges. As reported by the Associated Press earlier this summer, President Biden said that he would not pardon Hunter: “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.” The December 1st pardon covers Hunter’s convictions in two cases in California and Delaware, but also extends to any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024”.
Hunter Biden’s criminal charges come from a period in his life where he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. He was convinced of lying on a federal form when purchasing a gun, saying that he was not addicted to drugs. He also was accused of avoiding paying at least $1.4 million in taxes. In 2019, he became sober, and has not had any new charges since.
President Biden defended his decision by arguing that his son has been treated differently by the courts due to his position as President. He said that “No reasonable person who looks at the facts or Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.” The President also says that these charges are “an effort to break Hunter”, who “has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution.”
Various Democratic elected officials have come forward to express their disagreement with Biden’s pardon. As reported by CBC News, Democratic Michigan Senator Gary Peters said in a post on X that “President Biden’s decision to pardon his son was wrong”, and that this “was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.” According to the New York Times, Representative Jason Crow of Colorado said that while he understood President Biden’s deep love for his son, he was “disappointed that this was the decision that he landed on.”
The pardon comes at a time of uncertainty in the weeks before the inauguration of former President Donald Trump, who has talked about “enemies from within” and engaged with social media posts calling for President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Vice President Mike Pence to be imprisoned, along with others. He has announced Kath Patel as his nominee for director of the FBI, who has listed “dozens of former government officials he wanted to ‘come after.’”
Additionally, Trump has said that he will pardon his supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which he believes is now justified given the pardon of Hunter Biden. The question of future presidential pardons will likely continue throughout the Trump presidency.
Image Source: AP News
Indresh Chandel