Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter after repeatedly saying he would not pardon him.
Hunter, 54, pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges and was convicted of three felonies for lying on a federal firearms application.
Biden granted an executive pardon to his son yesterday, saying Hunter had been “selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”
The president’s son faces up to 17 years in prison, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for December 16 in Los Angeles.
Biden’s executive order targets any crimes that Hunter “committed or may have committed or participated in between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.”
He said, “Throughout my career, I have followed the simple principle of just telling the American people the truth.” They will be fair-minded.
“Here’s the truth. I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with it, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and that has led to miscarriages of justice. After we made this decision over the weekend, there was no point in delaying it further.
“I hope the American people understand why our father and president is making this decision.”
Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who pardoned friends and allies during his previous term, criticized the pardons in a post on Truth Social, calling them “such an abuse and misuse of justice!”
The decision also faced criticism from Biden’s own partners. Colorado Governor Jared Polis wrote of X: “This is a bad precedent that could be exploited by future presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
A jury found Hunter guilty in June, citing a history of crack cocaine, alcohol and devastating spending habits.
At the time, Biden said he would not intervene in the justice system anytime soon.
Read Joe Biden’s full statement
Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept that promise even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted. Absent aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are rarely tried for felonies solely because of how they filled out gun forms. Non-criminal settlements are usually awarded to people who missed paying their taxes due to severe addiction, but then repaid them with interest and penalties. It’s clear that Hunter was given special treatment.
His legal accusations only came after several of my political opponents in Congress attacked me and incited me to contest my election. Then, as the carefully negotiated plea deal agreed to by the Justice Department unraveled in court, many political opponents in Congress took credit for bringing political pressure to the process. Had a plea deal been reached, Hunter’s case would have been resolved fairly and reasonably.
No reasonable person considering the facts of Hunter’s case could come to any other conclusion than that Hunter was chosen solely because he is my son, but that is incorrect. Efforts have continued to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to crush Hunter, they tried to crush me too—and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. That’s enough.
Throughout my career, I have followed a simple principle: Just tell the American people the truth. They will be fair-minded. This is the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with it, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and that it has led to miscarriages of justice. And after I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it further. I hope the American people understand why our father and president is making this decision.
“I accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process,” he said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has told reporters multiple times that she has no intention of expunging her son’s gun and tax convictions.
The President of the United States has unlimited power to pardon people, even if pardon lawyers say otherwise. This means the Trump administration does not have the authority to prosecute Hunter federally.
However, according to the Department of Justice manual, Hunter is not technically eligible for a pardon.
Full pardons are usually only recommended for people who have already served their sentences.
Officials say it is “unusual” for a case to be cleared before a conviction.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which determines and vets pardon candidates, says its recommendations are “recommendations.”
“These do not create enforceable rights for persons applying for presidential pardons, nor do they limit the powers vested in the president,” the paper said.
Will the pardon be revoked?
of seeds. In theory, they are irreversible. If the President of the United States pardons someone, Congress or the courts can’t do anything.
But the president can do some things. George Bush did just that in 2008, stripping him of a mail fraud pardon he had given to real estate developer Isaac Robert Toosey after learning that his father was a top Republican donor.
The basis was that the pardon attorney did not sign the warrant.
The question of whether pardons can be ignored has never been considered by the Supreme Court, which tends to think “uh-huh” when it comes to such important constitutional issues.
A significant number of people have been pardoned over the years. George Washington almost immediately exercised his constitutional rights and acquitted John Mitchell and Philip Weigel, who had been convicted of their roles in the Whiskey Rebellion.
James Madison pardoned French pirates Jean and Pierre Lafitte. Jean’s cooperation in the Battle of New Orleans led to their convictions for enslavement and smuggling of goods being overturned.
Abraham Lincoln plans to pardon 265 of the 303 Dakota Indians who attacked white settlements in Minnesota and killed 490 people. They were to be sentenced to death.
All those who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War were pardoned by Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal and Iva Togri D’Aquino, the voice of Tokyo Rose Broadcasting, which spread Japanese propaganda to the United States during World War II.
President Ronald Reagan pardoned New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who made illegal donations to Nixon’s campaign in 1972.
Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger, who was convicted on drug charges.
One of the most controversial pardons was Bill Clinton’s 30-month commutation of the sentence of Louis Libby, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with a CIA leak.
Donald Trump has pardoned and commuted the sentences of many allies and friends, including Steve Bannon, Anthony Levandowski, and Lil Wayne. Much of that was in his final hours as president in 2021.
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