Despite his repeated denial of the idea of pardoning his son, Joe Biden has changed his mind at the end of his mandate and has officially pardoned Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges earlier in September, and was found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June.
The move has been heavily criticized – particularly as the decision to announce this after Thanksgiving seemed egotistical and in poor taste to many.
Donald Trump himself set a precedent by pardoning close friends and allies – including the father of his son-in-law, Charles Kushner. (In fact, Bill Clinton pardoned his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton, for a 1985 cocaine-related offence in 2001.)
What’s more, in all likelihood it was precisely the Republican win that pushed Biden to pardon his son.
Many say that Hunter has been treated too harshly, that he has been punished enough, and it’s safe to assume that his vindication would continue under Trump’s government.
However, the move isn’t great for Biden’s legacy, particularly as he strove to bend juridicial procedure by mandating an unconditional pardon. But of course, it is understandable for a parent to be less concerned about that than his child’s wellbeing.
Critics have also pointed out that if he chose to pardon Hunter, he should also pardon others – for instance, those wrongfully convicted for murder, or marijuana convictions. Trump said: “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the [6 January] Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
Others are upset that he didn’t follow through on his promise regarding student loans.
President Biden’s statement reads as follows:
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. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. 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. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
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 – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. 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.
For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. 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.
“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”, said Hunter Biden.
Exit polls show pro-European parties with comfortable win in Romania parliamentary elections
