President Biden lied. Despite repeatedly claiming he would not do so, on Dec. 1, the president issued a "full and unconditional pardon" for his son Hunter.
Biden's statement on pardoning his son included lines claiming Hunter was targeted because of who he is and was found guilty because he is the president’s son. While part of that may be true, it’s exactly what many feel happened to President-elect Trump. That narrative is driven home in Biden’s pardon message, which belabors that point in a series of tone deaf, pot-meet-kettle set of statements:
"I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."
"It is clear that Hunter was treated differently."
"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."
"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."
Americans likely do understand. They know that if they committed the crimes Hunter did, they'd have already been stripped of all their assets and be jailed for the better part of their natural lives.
The pardon spans a over decade of allegations and convictions against his son.
For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Hunter pleaded guilty in September to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes, which comes with a possible 17-year prison sentence and a fine of possibly $1.3 million. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16. That’s now gone.
In June, Hunter was found guilty for lying on a federal form about his drug abuse when buying a gun and then illegally owning the gun for almost two weeks. His sentencing was set for Dec. 12. This is gone too.
In addition to those two crimes that were wiped out by this broad pardon, the timeframe in the pardon also makes anything related to his involvement in Burisma/Ukraine basically untouchable, but also pretty much everything on Hunter’s now famous laptop. An analysis of the laptop’s contents apparently came up with a list of 459 crimes committed, some of which include items tied to Biden senior.
Read the whole Biden pardon statement. Then compare it to the 52-page document titled “The political prosecutions of Hunter Biden” released by Hunter's lawyers at the end of November. A lot of crossover there.
In a statement that appeared mostly recycled from one he made over a year ago on Capitol Hill following a hearing, Hunter said his crimes was being exploited for “political sport.”
"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,” said Hunter Biden. “Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.”
Hunter continued, “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."
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The Reactions
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi for the Central District of California, the one overseeing Hunter’s tax evasion case, strongly rebuked the president’s claim that his son was treated unfairly in a 5-page notice of pardon order.
"The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history,” Scarsi wrote.
"According to the President, ‘[n]o reasonable person who looks at the facts of [Mr. Biden’s] cases can reach any other conclusion than [Mr. Biden] was singled out only because he is [the President’s] son.’ But two federal judges expressly rejected Biden’s arguments that the Government prosecuted Mr. Biden because of his familial relation to the President,” wrote Scarsi. “And the President’s own Attorney General and Department of Justice personnel oversaw the investigation leading to the charges."
In his order, Scarsi says he is awaiting the actual pardon document after having received a “hyperlink” of the president’s statement, by stating “In short, a press release is not a pardon."
Scarsi also points out that Hunter’s tax evasion came after he was sober and that Hunter had admitted to having the money to pay the taxes, but he basically didn’t do it because he wanted to maintain his lifestyle.
“Upon pleading guilty to the charges in this case, Mr. Biden admitted that he
engaged in tax evasion after this period of addiction by wrongfully deducting as
business expenses items he knew were personal expenses, including luxury clothing, escort services, and his daughter’s law school tuition,” Scarsi wrote.
IRS Whistleblowers Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler, have both supplied testimony to Congress on matters related to Hunter and his father’s business dealings, resulting in their being targeted by the Biden DOJ. The men made the following statement after the pardon was announced:
"No amount of lies or spin can hide the simple truth that the Justice Department nearly let the President's son off the hook for multiple felonies. We did our duty, told the truth, and followed the law. Anyone reading the President's excuses now should remember that Hunter Biden admitted to his tax crimes in federal court, that Hunter Biden's attorneys have targeted us for our lawful whistleblower disclosures, and that we are suing one of those attorneys for smearing us with false accusations.
"President Biden has the power to put his thumb on the scales of justice for his son, but at least he had to do it with a pardon explicitly for all the world to see rather than his political appointees doing it secretly behind the scenes. Either way it is a sad day for law abiding taxpayers to witness this special privilege for the powerful."
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Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social.
The statement from his incoming White House communications director was more metered.
“The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system," Trump campaign’s Steven Cheung said in a statement. "That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued a few remarks, some on social media and others in a prepare statement.
During a press conference, Johnson said, "This pardon is a perversion of justice and it is a utter disregard for the rule of law and it undermines further undermines the people's faith in our system of justice. So we have reform on the way and it cannot happen soon enough."
Johnson also said the pardon reinforces what many Americans believe, that there are "two tiers of justice" in this country.
Some Democrats have even had problems with the pardon like Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, a.k.a., the Obama Bros. On the Pod Save America podcast, the trio were upset for making Democrats look stupid.
Favreau said what was "most infuriating" is that Biden pardoned his son and not "a whole bunch of other people who were just government servants doing their job.”
Well, Favreau may get his wish. Per Politico, Biden's senior aides are also considering pushing the outgoing president to issue "preemptive" pardons. Names being tossed around are Dr. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, and Adam Schiff.
This preemptive pardon talk raises the question, what are the limits on presidential pardons? The answer is almost none.
The pardon ability resides in the U.S. Constitution's Article II, Section 2 - and it is very broad.
"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
In short, federal offenses can be pardoned, there is no time frame or scope included, but pardons involving impeachment are specifically off the table.
Congress has no path to altering a president's ability to pardon someone other than to hold a hearing and complain about it. (See: United States v. Klein -1871)
The courts also have very little control over pardons beyond reviewing one to make sure it doesn't violate other aspects of the Constitution. (See Schick v. Reed - 1974)
There is a very thorough rundown of the pardon power, the limitations, "self pardons," and legal issues for those who are interested in reading more over at USConstitution.net.
Quick parting note: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre gave some weird remarks about the pardon and blamed it on Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC).