Joe Biden has announced a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son Hunter Biden, covering convictions on federal gun and tax charges, the US president said in a statement released by the White House on Sunday.
The decision marks a dramatic change of heart from the White House, which has repeatedly said it will not use its executive powers to pardon his son or commute his sentence. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory:
“We have been asked this question several times and our answer remains the same – no.”Â
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to nine counts of tax evasion worth $1.4 million, despite his defence’s adamant that he had been politically persecuted. The presiding judge noted that Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years behind bars, as well as up to $1.3 million in fines. He was also found guilty by a jury in June on three counts of possessing a firearm while addicted to drugs.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on federal gun charges on December 12. Sentencing in the tax case was due four days later. The tax charges carried up to 17 years in prison, while the gun charges carry a penalty of up to 25 years, though it was expected that the president’s son would have avoided prison time entirely.
Pardon for all offences against the US
The pardon covers all “crimes against the United States that he committed or may have committed or participated in between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024, including, but not limited to, all crimes with which he is charged or prosecuted.”
In a statement, Joe Biden said he had long maintained that he “would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making process, and I have kept my word, even as I watched my son selectively and unfairly prosecuted.” But, he said, “it’s clear Hunter was treated differently,” adding that the allegations in the case “only came to light after several of my political opponents in Congress incited to attack me and oppose my election.”
Earlier, the lawyers for scandal-plagued “first son” Hunter Biden were reported to have filed a complaint, apparently the last in his father’s name, with the US president asking him to pardon him. Abby Lowell, one of Hunter’s lead lawyers, said the two criminal cases against the 54-year-old son faced significant external pressure as Republicans sought to politically damage his father, President Biden. Lowell said in a statement:
“This is a seven-year saga driven by an unrelenting political desire to use the son to hurt his father.”
Previously, plenty of liberals in Washington and the EU have argued that the US has such a democracy and checks and balances that even the president’s son is equal before the law.
Trump’s outrage
On Sunday, Trump reacted with outrage, writing on his social media account:
“Does the pardon given to Joe Hunter extend to the hostages of J-6 (storming the Capitol on January 6) who have been in prison for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of justice!”
In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as several allies convicted as part of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia. On Saturday, Trump announced plans to nominate Charles Kushner to be US ambassador to France.
