The U.S. President Joe Biden had on Sunday pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, in a surprising reversal move after pledging to stay out of legal proceedings against the younger Biden who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
The president had said in a statement;
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
This is as the White House had repeatedly said that Biden would not pardon or commute sentences for Hunter, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.
Shortly before leaving for a trip to Africa, Biden released a statement that read:
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.”
The grant of clemency revealed Biden had granted “a full and unconditional” pardon to Hunter Biden for any offenses committed in the window from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
Recall that Hunter Biden had faced sentencing for the false statements and gun convictions this month.
Back in September, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of defaulting in paying $1.4 million in taxes even while he was spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items. Thereafter, he was scheduled for sentencing in that case on Dec. 16.
Biden’s son gave a statement on Sunday, saying;
“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.” He also added that he had remained sober for more than five years.
“In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages … I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
The Republicans have criticized the president’s move, with Trump posting on his Truth Social site, in reference to those convicted for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump claimed falsely that he had won the 2020 election.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
In addition, Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability remarked that “Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities.”
The president had revealed how he believed that his opponents had sought to break Hunter with selective prosecution.
According to President Biden, people were almost never brought to trial for felony charges for how they filled out a gun form, and said others who were late in paying taxes because of addiction but paid them back with interest and penalties, as his son had, typically received non-criminal resolutions to their cases.
“It is clear that Hunter was treated differently. The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden had said. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
The US president also revealed how he had come to the decision to pardon his son over the weekend. The president, his wife, Jill Biden, and their family including Hunter all spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and thereafter returned to Washington on Saturday night.
“Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden concluded.
Why It Matters
On one hand, some people view President Biden’s pardon of his son as an act of compassion and a father’s love, especially in light of the personal struggles Hunter Biden has faced. Theses people argue that the charges were politically motivated and that the pardon was a way to correct an injustice.
On the other hand, critics argue that this decision undermines the rule of law and sets a concerning precedent. They believe it contradicts President Biden’s previous promises to maintain impartiality in legal matters and could be seen as an abuse of presidential power.
Hate it or not, Biden isn’t the first seating president to pardon a family member. A few notable examples include:
- Bill Clinton who pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who had been convicted of drug charges.
- Donald Trump who pardoned Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, who had been convicted of tax evasion and other crimes.
- Abraham Lincoln granted amnesty to Emilie Todd Helm, his sister-in-law, who was the widow of a Confederate general.
