Joe Biden has granted a “full and unconditional” pardon to his son Hunter Biden, covering his son's conviction and guilty plea on firearms charges, the US president explained. statement The White House announced on Sunday.
The decision is a reversal for Biden, who has repeatedly said he has no intention of using executive power to pardon or commute his son's sentence.
The pardon comes ahead of Hunter Biden's Dec. 12 sentencing on federal firearms charges. Hunter Biden is also scheduled to be sentenced in a separate criminal case four days later after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
Joe Biden said in a statement that he was rescinding his pledge to “not interfere in the decisions of the Department of Justice,” adding, “Even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted, I kept that promise. ” he said.
Hunter Biden was convicted in June of three felonies in Delaware related to a 2018 handgun purchase because he indicated on the gun purchase form that he was not an illegal drug user. This is because he made a false statement.
Joe Biden said Sunday night that his son had been indicted. “Absent aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchase of the weapon as a straw purchaser, it is unlikely that someone will be tried for a felony just because of how they filled out the form of the gun.”
“It's clear that Mr. Hunter received special treatment,” Biden said, adding that the accusations “came only after several political opponents in Congress attacked me and incited me to contest my election.” It happened,” he added.
The pardon also covers Hunter Biden's tax evasion conviction.
However, Joe Biden said in a statement that “non-criminal resolutions are typically available to people who missed paying their taxes because of a severe addiction, but then repaid them with interest and penalties.” ” he said.
Mr. Biden accused his political opponents of naming his 54-year-old son.
“No rational person considering the facts of Hunter's case could come to any other conclusion than that Hunter was chosen solely because he is my son, and that is wrong,” he said. .
“In the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution, efforts have continued to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years. In trying to break Hunter, they tried to break me too… And there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Speculation that the president would pardon Hunter had been mounting ever since he was spotted on Nantucket with his father over the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Donald Trump broached the idea of pardoning Hunter Biden in an October radio interview, but at the time his father was still officially opposed to the idea.
“I'm not going to take it off the books,” Trump said. “You know, unlike Joe Biden, where did they go after me so hard despite what they did to me…and Hunter is the bad guy.”
Hunter Biden's laptop left at a repair shop in Delaware ended up in the hands of Republicans, sparking a scandal late in the 2016 election. Republicans claimed the so-called “Laptop from Hell”, which featured images of hunters posing with guns, sex workers and crack cocaine, was suppressed by Democratic-leaning media outlets.
Hunter Biden later published a book, Beautiful Things: A Memoir, detailing some of his exploits as a drug addict. But the Biden family denied the more serious charge that Hunter's lucrative financial arrangements with businessmen in Ukraine and China amounted to expropriation in the family's name.
In a statement announcing the pardon, Joe Biden said that throughout his “entire career,” he has lived by the simple principle of telling the American people the truth.
“Here's the truth. I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with it, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and that has led to miscarriages of justice. After we made this decision over the weekend, there was no point in delaying it further. I hope the American people understand why our father and president is making this decision. ”
