Joe Biden pardons Hunter’s son: What it means and why it matters | Joe Biden News

US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing conviction for two crimes related to tax evasion and gun buying.

Here’s what we know about guilt and amnesty:

Who is Hunter Biden and what are the charges against him?

Hunter Biden is Joe Biden’s 54-year-old son. He is also his only surviving son and the first child of a sitting US president to face criminal charges.

In a 2021 memoir, Hunter admitted to using cocaine and alcoholism, though he said he received treatment and recovered from his addictions.

Hunter faced the possibility of serving years in federal prison on multiple charges related to gun possession and tax fraud.

In June, he was convicted by a judge of illegally buying and possessing a firearm while on drugs. Hunter had the .38 caliber Colt Cobra Special for about 11 days and never fired it, according to his attorneys.

Months later, in September, he pleaded guilty to a tax evasion scheme of at least $1.4m.

On the tax charge, he faced up to 17 years in prison, while the gun charges carried a sentence of up to 25 years. However, Hunter was expected to receive a shorter sentence, and it was possible that he could avoid prison time altogether.

Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on December 12 on gun-related charges in Delaware and on December 16 on tax charges in California.

But didn’t Joe Biden say he wouldn’t pardon Hunter?

Indeed.

In June, Biden ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son. “I follow the judges’ decision. I will do that and I will not forgive him,” said Biden when his son faced a gun trial in Delaware.

Separately, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said at least seven times — over a year — that Biden will not forgive his son.

When Biden faced then-President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election, he tried to distance himself from the politician – who has been accused of many crimes.

“No one is above the law,” he wrote on X in early July, appearing to protest the US Supreme Court’s decision to grant Trump immunity from any violations of the law he committed during his presidency.

No one is above the law.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 31, 2024

So how did Biden justify the change in his position?

In a statement made by the White House on Sunday, Biden announced his decision to sympathize with his son, Hunter Biden.

Biden explained that this decision was made because of what he described as a politically motivated attack organized by his opponents, to destroy his reputation.

“The charges against him came after many of my political opponents in Congress encouraged them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said in a statement.

“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s crimes would come to any other conclusion than that Hunter was singled out because he is my son – and that is wrong.”

Biden reiterated, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have been involved in this, I believe that green politics has infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice.” … I hope the American people will understand why my father and the President will make this decision.”

How did Hunter react?

Hunter said in a statement that he will never take this release lightly.

“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the most difficult days of my addiction – mistakes that were used to humiliate me publicly and embarrass me and my family through political games,” he said in a statement.

“I will never take for granted the compassion that has been given to me today and I will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to help those who are still sick and suffering.”

What do you do for forgiveness?

The US Constitution states that the president has the power to grant clemency, including amnesty, pardon, commutation and pardon.

Amnesty frees people from federal criminal charges and restores all civil liberties and rights, while reform reduces penalties without removing them entirely. A pardon is similar to a pardon but is extended to a group of individuals.

This power came from English law, where the king could show mercy to anyone, and later crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. American presidents often exercise this authority.

How common is it for presidents to pardon family members?

It is not uncommon for US presidents to use this power to pardon or commute a family member’s sentence.

In his last weeks in office in 2021, Donald Trump issued about 100 pardons and commutations. Among the people who pardoned was Charles Kushner, the father of her son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

In 2005, Kushner was sentenced to two years for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering. Fast forward to 2024, and Charles Kushner has just been nominated by Trump to serve as the US ambassador to France in the incoming administration.

Former president Bill Clinton, before the end of his second term, pardoned his half-brother Roger. In 1985, Roger Clinton Jr. was convicted of a cocaine-related offense and sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute.

Is this important?

According to analysts, this pardon could undermine the credibility of the US democratic system – and the idea that the law is truly the same for everyone.

“Now that the election is over and Joe Biden has no more races to run, I think what we’re seeing now is a father looking forward to his son,” Eric Ham, an American political analyst, told Al Jazeera. .

“I believe that this will be the remaining question that many people will focus on, and I suspect that now there will be many eyes on any pardon that Joe Biden offers as he walks out the door. But again, I think it raises a very big question about where the US stands now as a nation of laws,” he added.

Experts also suggest that this also puts the US in a challenging position in its global role.

“It will be very difficult for the US … as it tries to strengthen other countries, including China, Russia and North Korea,” Ham said.

“I think it blurs the lines, and I think it makes it difficult for the US to make those arguments. If you look at the successive steps taken by Biden and Donald Trump, who ran on pardoning the rebels on January 6, I think the US argument is getting harder as the country moves forward,” he explained. .

“The law seems to only work or not work for certain people,” Ham added.

Is this similar to what Trump has said or done before?

Both Biden and Trump have accused the Justice Department of being politically influenced.

Biden said the case was used to attack him and oppose his election. Trump also indicated that the justice system is targeting him and that he is a victim of prosecution.

After Biden announced Hunter’s pardon, Trump called the action a miscarriage of justice.

“Does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who have been imprisoned for years?” Trump said on social media. He was talking about the protesters who were accused of attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Torture and Miscarriage of Justice!” he added.

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol after delivering a fiery speech urging the crowd to “fight like hell”, with the aim of stopping Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Biden.

How have others responded?

Iowa Republican Senator Charles E Grassley said on social media that he was “shocked” that the president pardoned his son because “he has said many times that I will not believe him again. I am ashamed.”

Separately, Greg Stanton, a Democrat from Arizona, wrote on X: “I respect President Biden, but I think he made a mistake. This was not a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed crimes, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”

“Joe Biden is a liar and a hypocrite, to the core,” said Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman from Georgia.

But others welcomed Biden’s decision, saying Hunter was not treated fairly. Former US Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in X that the pardon was “guaranteed”.