President Joe Biden has granted his son, Hunter Biden, a “full and unconditional” pardon for federal gun and tax convictions which has sparked significant debate. The announcement, released by the White House on Sunday, comes just days before Hunter’s scheduled sentencing for the charges.
The pardon marks a shift for President Biden, who had previously vowed not to interfere in the Justice Department’s handling of his son’s legal troubles. In his statement, the president accused his political opponents of targeting Hunter for partisan gain.
“It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” Biden said. “These charges came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.”
Hunter Biden faced convictions on three felony gun charges in June and nine tax-related charges in September. The tax charges alone carried a potential 17-year prison term, while the gun charges could have led to a 25-year sentence. Despite federal sentencing guidelines suggesting significantly reduced time, Biden’s pardon effectively halts all legal proceedings.
Joe Biden framed the pardon as a necessary step to correct what he sees as a politically motivated campaign against his son. “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,” the president asserted.
He further noted that similar offenses—like late tax payments or errors on gun-purchase forms—are typically resolved without criminal charges. “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,” he explained.
Reacting to the pardon, Hunter Biden expressed gratitude and acknowledged his past mistakes. “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction,” he said. “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.”
Hunter’s legal team swiftly moved to dismiss ongoing cases in Los Angeles and Delaware, citing the pardon. The pardon has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans, who have long targeted Hunter Biden’s troubled past and alleged misconduct to undermine the president.
Representative James Comer labeled the pardon part of a broader effort to avoid accountability. “The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people,” Comer posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Former President Donald Trump, who had earlier speculated that Hunter might receive a pardon, responded with outrage. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it “an abuse and miscarriage of Justice.”
In his statement, Joe Biden explained his reasoning: “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. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”
With Hunter Biden now five years sober, Joe Biden emphasized that his son has faced relentless attacks but persevered. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – and in trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me. Enough is enough.”
As speculation about the pardon mounted following the Bidens’ Thanksgiving gathering, its timing and implications are likely to remain a focal point in the heated political discourse leading up to the 2024 elections. Meanwhile, President Biden has departed for Angola, marking what could be his final foreign trip before leaving office.
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