President Joe Biden announced that he has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, ahead of his upcoming sentencing.
The president’s son was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. On Dec. 16, he was expected to be sentenced after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
“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 said in a statement.
The executive order grants a “full and unconditional pardon” for any crimes Hunter Biden has “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”
The pardon comes after Biden’s insistence that he would not use executive authority to issue a pardon or a sentence commutation.
Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, his own family, and more, and Trump supporters loved it.
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) December 2, 2024
I don’t want to hear a word from MAGA about Biden pardoning Hunter.
Following President Biden’s announcement, Trump’s team denounced the move in a cutting statement.
“The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” said Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung. “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people,” he continued.
My only issue with Biden pardoning Hunter is if he stops there.
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) December 2, 2024
Biden should commute death penalty for 40 Americans on federal death row, cancel student debt via EO & force Trump to revive it, & protect abortion nationwide via EO. Get bold. Take action. Slow down MAGA fascism!
The move was likely to protect Hunter from Donald Trump’s pledge to exact revenge on his opposition. A report from NPR published in October found that “Trump has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived opponents.”
However, Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, attempted to ease the fears of Trump’s adversaries while speaking to Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig.
“Anyone who is afraid right now, you should not be afraid,” she told the publication, adding that the president-elect “is not hell-bent on revenge or retribution of any variety” in his second term. “He is not on a revenge tour. He actually himself said, ‘My revenge will be success.'”
