Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunteran unexpected turn with which the president of the United States contradicts his promise not to use that prerogative to protect his only male child. Hunter Biden, 54, was found guilty of illicit possession of weapons in Delaware and pleaded guilty to tax fraud in California. He faced a maximum sentence of 17 years for the tax fraud and up to 25 years for the weapons case, making a total of 42 years.
Never before has a president pardoned such a direct relative convicted or self-indicted for serious crimes related to fraud and possession of weapons.
The pardon not only exonerates Hunter of the two pending cases, but also of any possible crimes committed between 2014 and 2024. This blocks any future investigation he might attempt. Donald Trump, now president-elect. During his first term, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky to investigate Hunter’s lucrative business dealings in Ukraine, suspecting them of concealing family fraud.
That request sparked the first impeachment trial against Trump, which ended with his acquittal in the Senate. Since then, one of the most repeated slogans of the Republican campaign has been the question: “Where is Hunter?”, with which Trump accuses Biden of covering up his son’s crimes.
In a statement issued this Sunday, Biden argued: “The allegations against Hunter arose only after they were instigated by several of my political opponents in Congress to attack me and oppose my election. “There is no doubt that Hunter was singled out just because he is my son, and that is wrong.” According to Biden, this presidential act seeks to repair what he considers unfair treatment towards his family.
Hunter Biden has been a constant source of controversy for his father. In June he was found guilty of lying on a gun purchase form in 2018, where he falsely stated that he did not use drugs while he was an active user. In that case, he faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $750,000. Although the actual sentence would probably have been less as it was his first conviction, the charges were serious.
In September he pleaded guilty to nine tax charges, including three felonies and six misdemeanors. According to prosecutors, between 2016 and 2019 Hunter Biden evaded at least 1.4 million of federal tax dollars, using funds for personal expenses rather than paying your tax obligations. This case exposed him to a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.
The president justifies his decision this way: “No reasonable person examining the facts of Hunter’s case can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out solely because he is my son, and that is wrong. There has been an effort to destroy Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and targeted persecution. By trying to destroy Hunter, they’ve tried to destroy me, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. “That’s enough.”
It is common for a president to grant pardons at the end of his term, but it is rare for the beneficiaries to be immediate family members. Bill Clinton forgave his half-brother Roger for cocaine trafficking, and Trump pardoned his father-in-law Charles Kushner, convicted of fraud and witness tampering.
Despite this, Biden had publicly promised not to interfere. In June he stated: «I abide by the jury’s decision. “I will not pardon him.” Even on November 8, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated: “Our answer remains the same: no.”
This pardon comes in the final days of Biden’s mandate, when the political consequences are minimal after the Democratic defeat in the November 5 elections. However, this decision is likely to fuel attacks from Republicans and keep Hunter at the center of controversy.
A particularly controversial chapter surrounding Hunter was the appearance of a laptop that allegedly belonged to him, abandoned at a technical service in Delaware in 2019. According to various reports from media such as The New York Post, the device included emails related to his business in Ukraine and Chinaas well as photos and videos that exposed his drug abuse and other aspects of his personal life.
These revelations were censored in the 2020 election campaign by digital platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, which limited the distribution of the news arguing that they could be disinformation or electoral interference from Russia.
Years later, media outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times verified that some of the emails were authentic, which sparked criticism about the initial censorship and media handling of the case in the middle of the election period. Elon Musk later bought Twitter and turned it into X.
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