Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, after repeatedly saying he wouldn’t.
The incumbent president’s son, 54, had pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges and was convicted of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application.
Describing Hunter as being ‘selectively and unfairly prosecuted’, Biden issued an executive grant of clemency for his son yesterday.
Hunter faced up to 17 years behind bars and had a scheduled sentencing hearing in Los Angeles on December 16.
Biden’s executive order covered any offences which Hunter ‘committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan 1, 2014, through Dec 1, 2024’.
He said: ‘For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded.
‘Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.
‘I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.’
In a post on Truth Social, incoming Republican president Donald Trump who pardoned his friends and allies during his previous term, called the pardon: ‘Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!’
A jury found Hunter guilty in June, dragging out his history of crack cocaine, alcohol and crippling spending habits.
At the time, Biden said interfering with the justice system is something he wouldn’t be doing anytime soon.
‘I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process,’ he said.
White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters on several occasions he would not wipe out his son’s convictions on gun and tax charges.
A US president has unchecked power to pardon people, even if a pardon attorney says otherwise. This means the Trump administration will not have the power to federally prosecute Hunter.
Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.
The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unravelledin the courtroom – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.
For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
