Hunter Biden, who was scheduled to be sentenced later this month in two federal cases, was pardoned by President Joe Biden on Sunday. In September, the younger Biden entered a guilty plea to federal tax evasion charges after being found guilty of federal weapons crimes.
Republicans and some Democrats criticized the president for reversing his earlier stance that he would not pardon his son.
Read
Biden’s statement
explaining his decision:
I signed my kid Hunter’s pardon today. Even though I have seen my son being unfairly and selectively pursued, I have remained true to my promise to not meddle in the Justice Department’s decision-making since the day I assumed office. People are generally never tried on felony charges based only on how they filled out a gun form unless there are aggravating circumstances, such as usage in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a weapon as a straw purchaser. Non-criminal resolutions are usually granted to those who paid back their taxes later with interest and penalties after falling behind due to severe addictions. Hunter obviously had different treatment.
Only when a number of my congressional rivals encouraged them to disparage me and prevent my election did the charges in his cases become a reality. Then, a well-crafted plea agreement that the Department of Justice had approved fell apart in court, with several of my congressional rivals claiming responsibility for applying political pressure to the proceedings. Hunter’s cases would have been fairly and rationally resolved if the plea agreement had been upheld.
Given the facts of Hunter’s case, no sane person could conclude otherwise than that Hunter was singled out only because he is my son, which is incorrect. Despite relentless attacks and selective prosecution, there has been an attempt to help Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years. They have attempted to break me in an attempt to break Hunter, and there is no reason to think that this will end. Enough is enough.
I have operated on the straightforward tenet of telling the American people the truth for the entirety of my career. They will be impartial. The fact is that I support the legal system, but after struggling with this, I also think that raw politics have tainted it and caused a miscarriage of justice. I decided this weekend that there was no point in further postponing it. I’m hoping that Americans will get the reasoning behind a father and a president’s decision.
Read Biden’s pardon of his son:
Executive Clemency Grant
Biden, Joseph R. Jr.
United States of America president
Greetings to Everyone Who Will Receive These Presents:
It is known that, in accordance with my authority under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, have granted
Robert Hunter Biden
A Complete and Unconditional Forgiveness
For all offenses against the United States that he has committed, may have committed, or participated in between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses that Special Counsel David C. Weiss has charged or prosecuted (including those that have led to convictions) in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN) and the United States District Court for the Central District of California (Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1).
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have signed my name here and caused the Department of Justice to register the pardon.
Completed at the City of Washington on this first day of December in the year of our Lord 2K 24 and the United States’ 299th Independence.
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