Tengrinews.kz - US President Joe Biden has signed a decree pardoning his son Hunter, according to The New York Times.
In a statement released by the White House, Biden said he had decided to pardon Hunter for crimes against the United States that he "committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024."
The president explained his decision by saying that the accusations against his son were politically motivated and aimed at damaging Biden himself.
"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,” Mr. Biden said in the statement. “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," Biden said.
He added that there was a deliberate attempt to break Hunter, a man “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," the president noted.
After the pardon was announced, Hunter Biden also issued a statement.
"I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport. I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering," he said.
Many of the president's allies and critics had expected him to use his extraordinary powers, despite repeated statements by him and his press secretary that he had no intention of doing so.
Biden’s reversal comes just 50 days before the transition of power to President-elect Donald Trump, who has spent years criticizing Hunter Biden for his legal and personal woes in a series of attacks on the Biden family.
For much of his presidency, Biden has avoided commenting on high-profile criminal cases, including his son’s, to reaffirm his commitment to the Justice Department’s independence.
After Hunter Biden was convicted on three federal felony counts for illegally buying guns, the president said he would not pardon or commute his sentence.
Hunter Biden faced up to 25 years in prison for lying on a federal form about his drug addiction when he purchased a gun in 2018. But legal experts noted that given his lack of violent history and his status as a first-time offender, he likely would have received a significantly lighter sentence — up to a year in prison or even probation.
Recall that in June, a US jury found the US president's son guilty on all three counts of weapons violations. Biden Jr. himself did not admit guilt at the time.
In September, Hunter pleaded guilty to all nine counts of tax crimes. A Los Angeles district judge accepted his plea. The sentencing was scheduled for December 16. The media reported that these charges carry a prison sentence of up to 17 years.
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