- Outgoing president has pardoned him son from his convictions
- Hunter Biden was facing a jail term of up to 17 years
- President-elect Donald Trump has hit out at the decision
Outgoing president Joe Biden has issued a presidential pardon for his son, Hunter, who faced a substantial jail term of charges related to gun possession and tax fraud.
Presidential precedent
The move – the first time a president has pardoned his son – has caused huge controversy.
Hunter was facing jail for two separate convictions. In June, he was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm and lying about his drug use when buying the gun. While a conviction on this charge can carry a sentence of up to 25 years, it was anticipated his sentence would be no more than 16 months.
Then in September, Hunter pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges relating to falsifying records and failing to file returns. For his, he faced up to 17 years in prison.
Joe Biden had previously said that he would not pardon his son, but made a u-turn after deciding that he had been unfairly targeted and that the motivations behind it were political.
Another unusual factor in Joe Biden’s decision is that he pardoned his son before he was sentenced – that was due on December 16. The Department of Justice said this is “highly unusual” for someone convicted of a federal offence. But it is not without precedent – Donald Trump did his during his first term in office.
It is also not the first time a president has pardoned a relative. Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, in 2020. Going further back, Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger’s, drugs offence.
Bidens issue statements
In a statement, Joe Biden outlined the reasons behind 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,” he said. “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.”
Hunter Biden has also released a statement. In it, he said: “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.
“In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded.
“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.”
Trump reacts
President-elect Donald Trump has voiced his anger at Joe Biden’s decision. In a post on his social media network, Truth Social, he referenced those jailed for the attack on the US Capitol on Jan 6 2021. He refers to those convicted as ‘hostages’, despite their criminal convictions.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
Meanwhile, Barron Trump, Donald’s 18-year-old son, has become an internet meme recently thanks to a video of him aged four resurfacing online.
