Washington (AP)Just weeks before his planned sentence for his gun and tax offenses, President Joe Biden made the unexpected but not particularly surprising decision to renege on his promise and grant his son Hunter a categorical pardon.
Not to people who had seen the president’s collective grief over his two sons after they survived a vehicle accident that claimed the lives of Biden’s first wife and daughter over fifty years ago. Or to those who listened to the president frequently express regret over the cancer-related death of his older son, Beau, or raise issues with Hunter’s health and sobriety following years of severe addiction.
However, the 82-year-old president, who had promised to rebuild a shattered public’s faith in the country’s institutions and respect for the rule of law, has created additional concerns about his already precarious legacy by deciding to prioritize his family.
Colorado’s Democratic Governor, Jared Polis, wrote on X that this is a poor precedent that might be misused by future presidents and will regrettably damage his reputation. He went on to say that although he could understand Hunter Biden’s difficulties, no one is above the law—not even a president or a president’s son.
Especially after Donald Trump’s victory, Biden’s allies and aides had come to terms with the possibility that the president might use his exceptional power in the final days of his presidency to prevent his son from serving time in prison. Even while Hunter’s personal behavior and complicated business affairs were perceived as a continuing liability, the president’s supporters have long recognized Biden’s dedication to his family as an overall strength.
The pardon, however, comes as Biden has become more and more alone after losing to Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris, who entered the race after the president’s disastrous debate with Trump in June caused him to withdraw from the campaign.
He continues to face difficult foreign policy challenges in Europe and the Middle East. Additionally, he has to face the consequences of his choice to run for reelection in spite of his senior age, which contributed to Trump regaining the presidency despite his repeated warnings that he posed a threat to democratic values.
As he stands ready to claim credit for a growing economy and billions of dollars in infrastructure investments that are planned for the future, Trump has gleefully planned to undo Biden’s signature climate change accomplishments and reverse the Democrat’s efforts to reenergize the nation’s alliances.
And now, as the Republican promises to pursue revenge against alleged enemies, Biden has given him a pretext to move forward with ambitious plans to completely transform the Department of Justice.
Republican Joe Walsh, a strong opponent of Trump, stated on MSNBC that this pardon is simply disheartening for those of us who have been shouting about what a threat Trump is for a few years. We’ve been yelling that no one is above the law. According to Joe Biden, his son Hunter is above the law.
With his initial selection of vocal critics like former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general and Kash Patel to succeed FBI Director Christopher Wray, who ostensibly still has more than two years left in his term, Trump had already demonstrated his intention to upend the agency. (Gaetz eventually withdrew his name in the face of sex trafficking accusations.)
As he returns to the White House with a resounding mandate from the American people, President Trump will fix that justice system and restore due process for all Americans, according to a statement released by Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in response to the pardon.
The president-elect himself referred to the pardon as a miscarriage of justice and an abuse in a social media post.
Are the J-6 Hostages, who have been in prison for years, included in Joe’s pardon of Hunter? Trump enquired. He was alluding to individuals found guilty of participating in the bloody riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was organized by his followers in an attempt to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Biden and his representatives had bluntly and repeatedly denied that the president would pardon his son.
As his son was put on trial in the Delaware gun case in June, Biden told reporters, “I abide by the jury decision.” I won’t forgive him, but I will do that.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters in July that the answer was still no. The answer will be no. The answer is no. I also have nothing more to say. Will his son be forgiven? No.
Jean-Pierre restated that message in November, a few days after Trump’s win: “Our answer stands, which is no.”
The president’s change in perspective was not explained by Biden or the White House, and his broken commitment served as a lightning rod just as much as his act of clemency.
He is by no means the first president to pardon a friend or relative involved in political activities.About ten years ago, Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug offenses after he had completed his term. During his last weeks in office, Trump pardoned several associates found guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, including Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
However, in an effort to intentionally contrast himself with Trump, who pushed the limits of his power more than few of his predecessors, Biden positioned himself as prioritizing his respect for the American legal system and rule of law over his own personal issues.
According to three people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity, the timing of the pardon surprised several inside the White House who thought Biden would delay it as long as possible. It happened shortly after Biden spent a significant amount of time with Hunter and other family members in Nantucket, Massachusetts, over the previous week, which is a custom for Thanksgiving.
In a statement announcing the pardon, Biden stated, “I believe in the justice system, but as I wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. Once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.”
Some administration officials have privately voiced their distress that Biden’s remarks, particularly his allegation of an unjust prosecution of his son with political overtones, mirrored the criticism Trump, who was facing now-abandoned indictments for his role in attempting to sabotage the 2020 election, had been leveling at the Justice Department for years.
According to Biden, the charges against his sons were only brought about after a number of my congressional rivals incited them to criticize me and prevent my election. Since Hunter wrote about his gun purchase while addicted to illegal drugs in his memoir and eventually pled guilty to the tax charges, the facts of the offenses were barely in question, despite the fact that many legal experts thought that the allegations against the younger Biden were somewhat unique.
The pardon was particularly unprecedented because it was granted before Hunter Biden had received any punishment and it included not only the tax and firearms violations against his son but also any other possible actions he may have taken since the beginning of 2014.
This action may restrict the Trump Justice Department’s capacity to look into the younger Biden’s dubious international business activities or to develop fresh allegations to file criminal charges pertaining to that era.
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision,” Biden said in his statement, requesting consideration.
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This article was written by Aamer Madhani of the Associated Press.
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