President Joe Biden issues ‘full and unconditional pardon’ for son Hunter
In a surprising and shocking political development, outgoing President Joe Biden announced that he was giving a complete, comprehensive and full pardon to his son Hunter Biden. Ever since Hunter’s legal woes began, the President had remarked on several occasions that he was placing his trust in the judicial system and would not be pardoning his son. Republicans and even some Democrats are now criticizing the President on his reversal.
The Presidential Pardon covers any and all offenses Hunter Biden committed or may have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024, according to ABC News.
The President’s son was days away from being sentenced after pleading guilty to federal gun charges and tax evasion charges. He was to be sentenced on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges and on December 16 for his guilty plea to federal tax evasion charges. Hunter was looking at a possible 42-year prison sentence. The president’s decision to issue a “full and unconditional pardon” has been met with mixed reactions.
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In his statement on Sunday evening, President Biden said that he reversed his decandout pardoning Hunter due to what he deemed to be a miscarriage of justice, and that Hunter was singled out and hunted down simply because he was the President’s son and that because of that relationship, his son had been singled out and unfairly prosecuted, according to NBC News.
President Biden’s full statement:
Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.
The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
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. 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, in his own statement, acknowledged his past mistakes and expressed gratitude for the pardon. He highlighted his struggles with addiction and the impact it had on his life, while also committing to using his experience to help others. Hunter Biden has been sober for over five years and has faced intense public scrutiny and legal battles during this time.
“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,” Hunter Biden said Sunday night.
“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,” he added. “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.” ~ per CNN
Critics of the pardon argue that it undermines the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent, contending that the President’s pardon is politically motivated and could erode public trust in the justice system. Conversely, those supporting the Presidential Pardon of Hunter Biden, view it as an act of compassion and a necessary step to correct what they see as an unjust prosecution that was also politically motivated.
For more on the story. See the video below.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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