Atlanta (AP) Democrats, who have already been devastated by their losses in November, are now struggling with President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son for federal offenses after the party spent years denouncing Donald Trump as a law-breaking menace to democracy.
Late on Sunday night, the president reversed his earlier promises and granted Hunter Biden clemency for more than ten years of any federal offenses his son may have committed. According to a statement from the 82-year-old president, his son’s indictment on allegations of tax fraud and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form was driven by politics.
Some Democrats were not satisfied with that explanation because they were upset that Biden’s reversal may make it more difficult to challenge Trump, who has maintained that Biden and Democrats turned the legal system against him by bringing many indictments and one conviction against him.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted about Biden on the social media site X, saying, “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
The governor went on to say, “When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation,” alluding to the president’s use of parenthood to justify his choice. Hunter brought his own legal troubles upon himself, and while one can understand his hardships, one must also recognize that no one is above the law—not even a president or a president’s son.
President Joe Biden arrives at Amilcar Cabral international airport on Sal island, Cape Verde Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, en route to Angola as he makes his long-promised visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Pictured by Ben Curtis/Associated Press
On X, Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat from Arizona, stated: This prosecution was not driven by politics. Hunter was found guilty by a jury of his peers of felony.
There are undoubtedly many Democratic supporters of the president who point out that Trump has used his executive authority to pardon a number of his guilty friends, allies, and advisers, many of whom had involvement in Trump’s campaign and government.
In addition to pardoning Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, and Paul Manafort, Trump also wrote major Democratic donor Jon Cooper on X about his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner, who he recently named as the US ambassador to France.
Cooper continued, “Sorry, but Biden was right to pardon his son Hunter to protect him against Kash Patel’s weaponized FBI.” This was in reference to Trump’s alleged plot to remove FBI Director Christopher Wray and replace him with a loyalist who has threatened to target journalists and political opponents.
With voters putting Trump back in the White House and handing the GOP control of the House and Senate, Democrats immediately face the possibility of a Republican trifecta in Washington. It is anticipated that they would use the president-elect’s remarks about exacting revenge on his adversaries as part of their criticism of Trump and Republican leaders.
Trump had his own legal issues prior to defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, including two cases involving his attempts to reverse his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Since Trump’s victory on November 5, those cases—such as Trump’s sentencing following his conviction on business fraud charges in New York State—have either been dropped or indefinitely postponed, forcing Democrats to rethink how they approach the president-elect.
As his son was put on trial in the Delaware gun case in June, President Biden told reporters, “I abide by the jury decision,” emphatically ruling out a pardon or commutation for his son. I won’t forgive him, but I will do that.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden as recently as Nov. 8, just days after Trump’s election, stating, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times.” Our response remains unchanged: no.
The president’s reversal occurred just weeks before Hunter Biden was scheduled to be punished for his guilty plea to tax charges and trial conviction in the gun case. In December 2020, a month after his father’s 2020 triumph, the younger Biden revealed he was the subject of a federal investigation, capping a protracted legal battle.
In addition to the gun and tax charges committed by the younger Biden, the broad pardon also includes any other acts against the United States that he may have done or participated in between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024.
In June, Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felonies in a federal court in Delaware for buying a pistol in 2018 after lying on a federal form, according to the prosecution, that he was not addicted to or using narcotics unlawfully. In a California case, he was accused of not paying at least $1.4 million in taxes, and he was scheduled to go on trial in September. However, hours after jury selection was about to start, he made a surprise plea of guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges.
The president claimed in his statement on Sunday that these kinds of crimes are usually not punished with the same zeal as Hunter Biden.
According to Biden’s statement, the claims in his cases only arose after a number of his congressional rivals encouraged them to disparage me and prevent my victory. Given the facts of Hunter’s situation, no sane person could conclude that Hunter was singled out merely because he is my son. I’m hoping that Americans will get the reasoning behind a father and a president’s decision.
The Associated Press, 2024. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. It is prohibited to publish, broadcast, rewrite, or redistribute this content without authorization.
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