President Joe Biden waived tax and gun charges against his son Hunter Biden on December 1, after previously saying he would not interfere with the Justice Department’s prosecution, according to an official statement published by a white newspaper. He granted a presidential pardon. house.
Joe Biden’s decision comes just weeks before Hunter Biden is to be sentenced on his gun conviction and guilty plea on tax charges, and two months before President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to return to the White House. It was decided within.
What were the charges against Hunter Biden?
Robert Hunter Biden, 54, publicly disclosed in December 2020 that he was under federal investigation in connection with his business dealings in China and allegations of violating tax and money laundering laws.
The New York Times reported that a special investigation was launched in 2018 led by then-Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss.
4.79 million in wire transfers from entities associated with Chinese energy king Ye Jianming and his company CEFC China Energy for services that generate foreign income through Hunter Biden’s businesses, according to a Senate Republican report. A dollar was found.
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The raid led to the seizure of Hunter Biden’s laptop and sparked controversy even before Joe Biden was elected president.
The younger Biden was accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes, both in California and in a case in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and felonies.
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Hunter Biden was also convicted in June 2024 of three felonies in Delaware federal court for purchasing a gun in 2018, but prosecutors said he was not using it illegally or was addicted to drugs at the time. It was reported that he made false statements on federal applications by claiming that he did not. News Agency Associated Press. Prosecutors argued that cocaine residue was found in his gun pouch.
Hunter Biden said he pleaded guilty in the case to avoid further pain and embarrassment for his family after his past struggles with cocaine addiction were aired during his trial. Ta.
The tax charges against Hunter Biden carry a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison, and the gun charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
presidential pardon
The pardon for all charges against Hunter Biden includes all “crimes against the United States that he committed or may have committed or participated in between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.” It is targeted.
In light of the pardon, Hunter Biden’s legal team also released a 52-page white paper titled “Political Prosecution of Hunter Biden,” calling the president’s son “a 2020 candidate and a candidate for 2020.” agent to attack and injure the father of the deceased.” later as president. ”
Joe Biden also said in his pardon that he did not favor his son and was justifying the “miscarriages of justice” committed against him, especially under the former Trump administration.
“The charges in his case only arose after several of my political opponents in Congress attacked me and incited me to contest my election,” he said in a statement.
