President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after the first son was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year.
The announcement was made by the White House on Sunday night.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden wrote in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Department of Justice’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”
“Without aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a gun as a straw buyer, people are almost never brought to trial for felonies solely because of how they filled out a gun form,” the statement added. “Those who fell behind on paying their taxes due to serious addictions, but subsequently repaid them with interest and penalties, typically receive non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
BIDEN WON’T FORGIVE HUNTER, THE WHITE HOUSE REAFFIRMS, BUT CRITICS ARE NOT SO SURE
Hunter Biden, accompanied by his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, arrives at the federal courthouse on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Hunter Biden, 54, has had a busy year in court, starting his first trial in Delaware in June, when he faced three felony firearm charges, before pleading guilty in a separate felony tax case in September. .
President Biden’s pardon of his son is a departure from his previous comments to the media over the summer, stating that he would not forgive the first son.
“Yes,” President Biden told ABC News when asked if he would rule out pardoning Hunter ahead of his guilty verdict in the gun case.
Days later, after a jury of Hunter’s peers found him guilty of three felony firearms offenses, the president again said he would not forgive his son.
“I’m not going to do anything,” Biden said after Hunter was convicted. “I will respect the jury’s decision.”
In the gun case, Hunter was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement relating to information required to be maintained by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an illegal User or addicted to a controlled substance.
HUNTER BIDEN FOUND GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN ARMS TRIAL
President Biden speaks at Carpenters Local Union 445’s “Get Out The Vote” event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images)
Prosecutors specifically worked to prove that Biden lied on a federal firearms form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018, when he checked a box labeled “No” when asked if he was an illegal substance user. or a controlled substance addict.
Hunter has a well-documented history of drug abusewhich was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” which explained to readers his previous need to smoke crack every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a “crack dad” to the drugs. drug dealers and anecdotes revolving around drug trafficking, such as that of a Washington, D.C., crack dealer whom Biden nicknamed “Bikes.”
HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL ENTERS DAY 5 AFTER SISTER-IN-LAW-TURNED-BRIDE’S TESTIMONY: ‘IN PANIC’
Hunter’s attorneys did not challenge the first son’s long history of substance abuse during the trial, which also included an addiction to alcohol. Instead, the defense argued that on the day Biden purchased the Colt .38 Cobra, he did not consider himself an active drug addict, citing the first child’s rehabilitation period before the purchase in October 2018.
Prosecutors, however, argued that Biden was addicted to crack cocaine before, during and after purchasing the gun. Just a day after the gun purchase, prosecutors showed the court that Biden texted Hallie Biden, his sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend, to tell her he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie.” A day after that message, he sent a message saying he was “sleeping in a car smoking crack.” 4th Street and Rodney” in Wilmington.
Hunter Biden, Melissa Cohen Biden, right, and first lady Jill Biden leave the federal courthouse after the jury finds him guilty on all three counts in his trial on criminal weapons charges, in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Hannah Beier)
A jury deliberated for approximately three hours over two days before finding Hunter guilty on each count.
Hunter’s sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 13, which was delayed until December before his father intervened.
After President Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July amid growing concerns about his mental acuity and age, Hunter faced another trial for three serious tax crimes and six misdemeanor tax crimes related to failure to pay at least 1, 4 million dollars in taxes.
As jury selection was about to begin in federal court in Los Angeles, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea.
HUNTER BIDEN PLED GUILTY TO NINE FEDERAL TAX COUNTS FILED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS
“I will not subject my family to any more pain, any more invasions of privacy and unnecessary embarrassment,” Hunter said in an emailed statement at the time. “Because of everything I’ve put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and that’s why I’ve decided to plead guilty.”
A court sketch shows the federal trial of Hunter Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, June 10, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars, but the first child likely would have faced a much shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. His sentencing was scheduled for December 16.
Prior to the president’s decision to pardon his son, President-elect Donald Trump said during the election campaign that he would consider pardoning Hunter if he won on Nov. 5.
Former President Donald Trump appears at an election night watch party on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Alex Brandon)
“I wouldn’t take it off the books,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt in October. “Look, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they’ve done to me, despite what they’ve pursued me so viciously… And Hunter is a bad boy.”
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“There’s no doubt about it. He’s been a bad boy,” Trump continued. “But I think it’s very bad for our country.”
