President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.
The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
It caps a long-running legal saga for the president’s son, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”
In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” alleging that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.”
“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 said. “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.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend. The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with Hunter and his family.
He was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
He was set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.
Hunter Biden said he was pleading guilty in that case to spare his family more pain and embarrassment after the gun trial aired salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.
The tax charges carry up to 17 years behind bars and the gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible he would avoid prison time entirely.
Hunter Biden said in an emailed statement that he will never take for granted the relief granted to him and vowed to devote the life he has rebuilt “to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
“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,” the younger Biden said.
A spokesperson for special counsel David Weiss, who brought the cases, did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday night.
(AP)
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18 Responses
The president, despite many believing the trump prosecutions were politically motivated, said we must respect our justice system and no one is above the law and therefore trump is a felon.
Yet he is pardoning his son and legitimizing it by stating they were politically motivated. where is his repect he demanded that others have for the rule of law and the fact that no one is above the law.
As Jewish people I think we could learn to appreciate a parent loving their child no matter what faults they may have and how is it possible for us to criticize someone for doing that?
Did anyone actually take Joe at his word that he wouldn’t pardon his son? That’s not cynicism; it’s how politics is played.
May Hashem – our father in heaven – pardon all his children.
Merrick Garland is right. Only white middle class Republicans have to abide by the law.
The moment sleepy crooked joe abdicated the presidential race, but not the presidency, saying he shall be staying in office thru Noon 1/20/2025:- It was so blatantly clear, that sleepy crooked joe was only staying on for 1 sole reason only:- To pardon hunter.
The only unjust court cases that I am aware of, are:-
1) All cases against President Elect Donald Trump שליט”א
2) All cases against Rudy Giuliani
3) All cases against January 6th heroes who quite literally being עוסקים במלחמת מצוה following a stolen election.
I mean, I can’t see myself getting upset if trump did this to his son. On the contrary, imagine a father being able to pardon his son and refusing. Of course he should pardon him.
I hope Hunter can move on to do good things and be a good, upstanding citizen.
Can’t wait to see haw KJP, NYT, Bernie, et al will explain this away.
How do you know a DemocRat is lying? Their lips are moving…
I am genuinely moved that Biden pardoned his son. A parent’s love goes very far and if in his last days as President, he could give his son the gift of freedom, of-course he should have! The declarations that he would not pardon his son were all part of the campaign to get Kamala elected. And indeed, had she won, Hunter wouldn’t have gotten his freedom. But Biden has nothing to lose any more. Not the Presidency, not his legacy or his good name. Hope Hunter values the tremendous gift and sacrifice and will be an upstanding and moral individual, going Forward.
He didn’t lie. If someone says something ridiculous he is not lying, he ridiculous. Just like congestion pricing we knew it going to return after the election.
As wrong as this was, I can understand where Biden is coming from. Trump appoints his old cronies to political posts for which they have no qualifications other than being loyal to him – including jailbirds who he pardoned. Why shouldn’t Biden be able to do the same thing? Republicans should keep their comments to themselves. As they say, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!
Told ya so
@ BaltimoreMaven
The problem isn’t that he pardoned his son- the problem is that he got up in front of the entire world and declared that he wasn’t going to when he knew good and well that he was going to after the elections.
This will make it much easier for Trump to pardon the MAGA people (including himself) who have been prosecuted for various political crimes.
@jews4biden Trump didn’t raise addicts and criminals.
After he is pardoned, have Hunter and his father tried for treason and genocide, as well as war crimes against humanity at the Hague. Then to be publicly hung at Sadams scaffold.
It is false that any loving parent would opt to pardon their child for committing acts that go against the family’s values. Remember that Benjamin Franklin refused to advocate for clemency from revolutionary authorities for his loyalist son William. As a result of Dr. Franklin’s intransigence, William moved to Britain, where he lived in exile, and maintained an irregular, perfunctory correspondence with his father.