(Image via The Washington Post)
Staff Photographer: Katelyn Pereira
Email: kpereira18@umassd.edu
On December 1st, President Joe Biden announced that he would be pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, before his sentencing for tax and gun-related charges. Hunter Biden’s legal issues, including his past struggles with addiction, have been a political challenge for the president.
By using his presidential power to pardon–soon after this subsequent election loss, Biden aimed to protect his son. Online, people have argued that it contradicts what he has said in the past about pardoning his son and that it doesn’t seem fair to ignore the rule of law.
President Biden justified his decision: “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 pointed to a “miscarriage of justice” in Hunter’s prosecution, arguing that such cases rarely result in criminal trials without aggravating factors like the use of a firearm in a crime or multiple offenses. He added, “People are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.”
The timing of the pardon, just days after former President Donald Trump’s victory in our election, has sparked controversy online. Critics, including Trump, have called the pardon an abuse of power, saying that it undermines our justice system. Trump’s team has warned of significant changes to federal law enforcement under his upcoming administration.
Biden’s decision also drew criticism from Democratic allies. Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado called the pardon a mistake, saying, “No one is above the law, not even the president’s son.”
On the other hand, the White House defended the decision, asserting that Hunter’s legal troubles were politically motivated.
Biden himself noted, “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.”
The pardon is especially controversial because President Biden had repeatedly promised not to intervene in Hunter’s case.
Earlier this year, he and his press secretary firmly stated there would be no pardon. Now, Biden’s reversal has sparked questions about his commitment to keeping his word.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process… and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.” He emphasized his hope that Americans would understand the decision, saying, “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
You can read the full presidential statement here.