U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, a reversal after pledging to stay out of legal proceedings against the younger Biden who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
"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," the president said in a statement.
The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute sentences for Hunter, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.
"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," Biden said in a statement released shortly before leaving for a trip to Africa.
The grant of clemency said Biden had granted "a full and unconditional" pardon to Hunter Biden for any offenses in a window from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
Hunter Biden faced sentencing for the false statements and gun convictions this month. In September he pleaded guilty to federal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items. He was scheduled for sentencing in that case on Dec. 16.
"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 in a statement on Sunday, adding he had remained sober for more than five years.
"In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages ... 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."
Republicans criticized the president's move.
"Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site, referring to those convicted for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump claimed falsely that he had won the 2020 election.
"Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family's corrupt influence peddling activities," said Representative James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
The president, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, said his opponents had sought to break Hunter with selective prosecution.
He said people were almost never brought to trial for felony charges for how they filled out a gun form, and said others who were late in paying taxes because of addiction but paid them back with interest and penalties, as his son had, typically received non-criminal resolutions to their cases.
"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," Biden said. "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."
In August 2023, lawyers for Hunter Biden said prosecutors had reneged on a plea deal that would have resolved the tax and firearms charges. The president said in his statement on Sunday that the plea deal "would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter's cases."
Biden said he had made his decision to pardon over the weekend. The president, his wife, Jill Biden, and their family including Hunter, spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and returned to Washington on Saturday night.
"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," Biden said.
"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."
Around 11,000 people joined a demonstration in Orléans on Saturday against the National Rally congress, according to the local prefecture....
Israeli forces have maintained a tight closure on Hebron in the occupied West Bank for a second day, with Palestinian media reporting home raids, m...
German police have detained a suspect after a major fire broke out at the historic Kehlsteinhaus, known as the “Eagle’s Nest&rdqu...
Israeli military bulldozers have begun demolishing buildings in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, 23 October, following armed clashes with Palestinians that left two Israeli soldiers dead, according to the Israeli military.
Saudi Aramco has ordered staff to evacuate its headquarters amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Two people were killed in an attack on Dammam airport, while Iran's IRGC Navy claimed strikes on seven vessels and warned the U.S. of a wider response.
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed at least two people and injured 15 others, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, Russia said it had intercepted the vast majority of 630 Ukrainian drones launched towards Moscow.
A powerful magnitude 7 earthquake has struck Tibet in southwestern China, killing 16 people and injuring 65, while forcing more than 12,000 residents to relocate as rescue teams respond to widespread aftershocks.
Missile and drone attacks have put Saudi Arabia on high alert, disrupting life in Riyadh and testing a new defence pact with Türkiye and Pakistan as regional tensions escalate.
Around 11,000 people joined a demonstration in Orléans on Saturday against the National Rally congress, according to the local prefecture.
German police have detained a suspect after a major fire broke out at the historic Kehlsteinhaus, known as the “Eagle’s Nest”, a mountain retreat once used by senior Nazi officials, including Adolf Hitler.
Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 500 injured as strong winds and torrential rain brought down trees, cut power and disrupted transport across the island.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday dismissed accusations that Canada planned to interfere in next month’s U.S. midterm elections, saying he was disappointed by comments from the American ambassador.
Kenya has recorded a second death from Ebola, the health ministry said late on Friday, as the outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread across Africa.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment