President Joe Biden made history this weekend when he announced that he signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.
U.S. presidents have in the past granted pardons to family members or close allies, but never before had one pardoned their own progeny.
Of course, Hunter Biden, 54, already made history in June when he became the first offspring of a sitting president to become a convicted felon.
Jurors in Delaware had convicted him on three felony counts of lying on paperwork for the purchase of a revolver and owning the firearm while being a drug addict in 2018.
A couple months later, in September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to several federal charges related to tax crimes right before a second trial was to begin in Los Angeles.
The First Son was expected to be sentenced for gun and tax evasion crimes later in December. He had faced the prospect of prison time.
In announcing the pardon on Sunday, President Biden insisted that “raw politics” had tainted the process and led to “a miscarriage of justice.”
The pardon is extensive, covering crimes Hunter “committed or may have committed” for an 11-year period dating back to 2014.
President Biden, who ran his 2020 campaign with a pledge to “return to normalcy,” had previously rejected the notion that he would pardon his son.
Just weeks ago, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times and our answer stands — which is no.”
President Biden had even released a statement insisting he would respect the outcome after his son was first convicted on gun charges in June.
“I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” President Biden said at the time.
Hunter’s pardon comes less than two months before his father leaves office after Donald Trump won a second White House term, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump, who faced his own criminal matters leading up to the 2024 election, had indicated he might be open to pardoning Hunter Biden.
“Congrats to Joe Biden on being the first president in history to pardon his son for criminal activity,” quipped RedState contributor Bonchie. “One for the history books.”
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[[{“value”:”
President Joe Biden made history this weekend when he announced that he signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.
U.S. presidents have in the past granted pardons to family members or close allies, but never before had one pardoned their own progeny.
Of course, Hunter Biden, 54, already made history in June when he became the first offspring of a sitting president to become a convicted felon.
Jurors in Delaware had convicted him on three felony counts of lying on paperwork for the purchase of a revolver and owning the firearm while being a drug addict in 2018.
A couple months later, in September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to several federal charges related to tax crimes right before a second trial was to begin in Los Angeles.
The First Son was expected to be sentenced for gun and tax evasion crimes later in December. He had faced the prospect of prison time.
In announcing the pardon on Sunday, President Biden insisted that “raw politics” had tainted the process and led to “a miscarriage of justice.”
The pardon is extensive, covering crimes Hunter “committed or may have committed” for an 11-year period dating back to 2014.
President Biden, who ran his 2020 campaign with a pledge to “return to normalcy,” had previously rejected the notion that he would pardon his son.
Just weeks ago, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times and our answer stands — which is no.”
President Biden had even released a statement insisting he would respect the outcome after his son was first convicted on gun charges in June.
“I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” President Biden said at the time.
Hunter’s pardon comes less than two months before his father leaves office after Donald Trump won a second White House term, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump, who faced his own criminal matters leading up to the 2024 election, had indicated he might be open to pardoning Hunter Biden.
“Congrats to Joe Biden on being the first president in history to pardon his son for criminal activity,” quipped RedState contributor Bonchie. “One for the history books.”
“}]]
