Biden’s decision to pardon son divides Democratic Party
Joe Biden’s decision has divided Democrats on Capitol Hill (we reported on the Republican reaction in a previous post).
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, criticized Biden’s decision.
“As a father, I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s understandable desire to help his son by pardoning him, but I am disappointed that he has put his family above his country,” Polis said. said on X, as reported by NBC News. To break the news of a presidential pardon.
“This is a bad precedent that could be exploited by future presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton, also a Democrat, said he thinks Biden is “wrong with this.”
“This was not a politically motivated prosecution,” Stanton said, also on the X show, “Hunter committed a felony and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
But Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate and now an independent, told X: “While it looks bad for Joe Biden to pardon Hunter, most fathers would do the same under these circumstances.” I guess,” he wrote.
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Updated at 07:53 EST
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Republican House Speaker says Hunter Biden’s pardon “irreparably damaged” the justice system
House Republicans have spent the past two years trying to prove that Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and legal troubles are evidence of widespread corruption involving Joe Biden and his family. They failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove the connection, and their attempts to impeach the president failed.
Leading the hunt for the president and his son was House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said of Joe Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter:
President Biden has repeatedly insisted that he will never pardon his son for his grave crimes. But last night, he suddenly granted Hunter a “total and unconditional pardon” for all the crimes he had committed over a decade! Confidence in our justice system has been damaged almost irreparably by the Biden family and their use and abuse of it. Real reform can’t start right away!
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Legal experts who spoke to Politico pointed to the scope of Joe Biden’s pardon for his son Hunter, saying it was rivaled only by the pardon Gerald Ford granted to his White House predecessor, Richard Nixon. Ta.
Biden pardoned his son for more than a decade of crimes, rather than pardoning individual crimes he faced, as is often the case. This is likely to ensure that the incoming Trump Justice Department cannot bring new charges against his son.
Here are more details from Politico:
Pardon experts say they can think of only one other person in generations to have received such a broad presidential pardon: Mr. Nixon, who was granted a full pardon by Gerald Ford in 1974. he said.
Margaret Love, who served as a U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, said, “With the exception of the Nixon pardon, I have never seen language like this in a pardon document purporting to pardon a crime that was clearly not prosecuted.” I’ve never seen it before,” he said. A position in the Department of Justice dedicated to assisting the president with pardon matters.
“Even in President Trump’s most expansive pardon, there was specificity in what was being pardoned,” Love added.
Joe Biden’s “full and unconditional pardon” for his son is intentionally vague. Donald Trump and his allies have long been obsessed with the president’s son, and Trump has repeatedly vowed to use his second term to investigate and prosecute members of the Biden family. Conservative commentators have been speculating that Hunter Biden could be indicted on bribery, illegal lobbying and other charges stemming from his overseas business operations and drug addiction.
Therefore, a presidential pardon does not simply pardon the gun crimes for which his son was convicted and the tax crimes to which he has pled guilty; It targets all “crimes against.” This language mirrors the language of Ford’s Nixon pardon, which extends beyond just Watergate coverage to “all people.” “Crimes against the United States” are those that Nixon “committed or may have committed” between January 20, 1969 and August 9, 1974, which is the end of Nixon’s presidential term. It is an accurate period.
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Joe Biden is currently flying to Luanda, Angola, as part of a last-minute trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the first by a U.S. president in eight years.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is expected to take questions at some point during the flight from Sal, Cape Verde, where Biden briefly stopped earlier today. No doubt reporters will pepper her with questions about the president’s decision to pardon her son, something Jean-Pierre said she would not do just weeks ago.
Air Force One’s gag was not captured on camera, and it is unclear whether this will be broadcast live in audio-only format. We will let you know as soon as Jean-Pierre’s comments become available.
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In the hours since Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, there are signs that some Democrats are not happy with the decision.
Among the first lawmakers to voice opposition was Rep. Greg Stanton, who represents a battleground district in Arizona. he said:
I respect President Biden, but I think he was wrong on this. This was not a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed a felony and was convicted by a jury of his peers.
We’ll let you know what other Democrats say about Biden’s pardon as the days go by.
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Updated on 08.23 ET
Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter following a federal gun and tax case may have shocked Washington, but it’s the first time a president has used his power to help the family. isn’t it.
As my colleague David Smith points out, Donald Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner for tax evasion and retaliation against a cooperating witness.
President Bill Clinton also pardoned his half-brother Roger in 2021 on cocaine charges after he completed his sentence 10 years ago.
Mr. Clinton also pardoned his former business partner Susan McDougall, who was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the Whitewater real estate deal.
You can read David’s full analysis below
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Updated on 08.43 ET
With Donald Trump set to take back power in early 2025, it’s a reminder of how the legal woes facing the next president are intertwined with those posed by Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers have asked that the federal gun and tax case against him be dismissed before prosecution, after Trump-appointed Judge Eileen Cannon dismissed a Florida classified documents lawsuit.
Both Biden and Trump were indicted by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In dismissing the Trump lawsuit, Cannon ruled that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump, was unconstitutional because he was appointed directly by Garland, rather than being nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. did.
Weiss is Biden’s lawyer because, as special counsel, Weiss litigated cases against Biden in California and Delaware and separately prosecuted a former FBI informant accused of lying about the Bidens. said Thursday that’s exactly what happened in his case.
However, the move ultimately failed, and the two cases proceeded in June and September.
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Updated at 07:52 EST
What is a presidential pardon?
The U.S. Constitution provides that the president has the power to grant pardons, including both pardons and commutations of sentences.
A pardon forgives a federal crime. The changes reduce the penalty, but it’s not very extensive.
This power had its roots in British law, where the king could grant mercy to anyone, and it reached across the ocean to the American colonies and stayed there.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the president’s pardon power is extremely broad.
Donald Trump granted 237 pardons during his four years in office, and Barack Obama granted 1,927 pardons in eight years. The president has pardoned drug crimes, fraud convictions, and Vietnam-era draft evaders, as mentioned in a post at 11:59 GMT.
However, the president can only grant pardons for federal crimes, not state crimes. Impeachment and conviction are also unacceptable.
*AP News
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Updated at 07:58 EST
Who else has received a pardon since Joe Biden was elected president?
Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter just weeks before leaving office has already been controversial and sparked debate in Washington.
But this is not the first time he has used his power to benefit people convicted of criminal offenses.
He previously pardoned thousands of people with prior convictions for marijuana use and possession on federal land, as well as 11 people serving what the White House called “disproportionately long” sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. granted amnesty.
No one was released from prison under last year’s measures, but the amnesty was aimed at helping thousands overcome obstacles to renting a home or finding work.
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Biden’s decision to pardon son divides Democratic Party
Joe Biden’s decision has divided Democrats on Capitol Hill (we reported on the Republican reaction in a previous post).
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, criticized Biden’s decision.
“As a father, I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s understandable desire to help his son by pardoning him, but I am disappointed that he has put his family above his country,” Polis said. said on X, as reported by NBC News. To break the news of a presidential pardon.
“This is a bad precedent that could be exploited by future presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton, also a Democrat, said he thinks Biden is “wrong with this.”
“This was not a politically motivated prosecution,” Stanton said, also on the X show, “Hunter committed a felony and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
However, former Democratic presidential candidate and now independent Andrew Yang told I guess,” he wrote.
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Updated at 07:53 EST
Hunter Biden pardon: What we know so far
For those just waking up, here’s a rundown of what’s been going on since U.S. President Joe Biden announced he would pardon his son, who was convicted of federal gun crimes and tax violations.
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Joe Biden’s previous remarks on the Hunter pardon
The US president has come under fire after being seen as reversing his stance on pardoning his son.
On November 8, just days after President Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed the possibility of a pardon or pardon for the younger Biden, saying: Our answer is no. ”
“I said I would defer to the jury’s decision, and I will. And I will not forgive him,” Biden told reporters at the G7 summit in June.
When asked if he planned to commute Hunter Biden’s sentence, the president said “no,” according to the BBC.
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Updated at 07:57 ET
