Biden pardons son Hunter, cites “miscarriage of justice”

In a surprising turn of events, U.S. President Joe Biden announced Sunday night that he has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, reversing his earlier stance against using executive authority in his son’s legal matters.

The decision comes ahead of Hunter’s scheduled sentencing for federal gun charges on December 12 and a separate tax evasion case on December 16.

In a statement, President Biden expressed his belief in the justice system but highlighted concerns over political interference.

“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice. Once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden stated.

Hunter Biden had previously pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September and faced significant legal challenges that had drawn widespread media attention.

The president issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for any offenses Hunter Biden has “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” according to the White House statement.

A senior White House official told NBC News, which was the first to report on the pardon decision, that the president decided over the weekend to grant his son a pardon and began to inform his senior aides Sunday.

The president also spoke about his son’s struggles with addiction in his statement Sunday night, saying that his political opponents were trying to “break” him by going after Hunter.

“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 — and that is wrong,” Biden said in his statement. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. 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 a separate statement, Hunter Biden said he had “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.”

Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends,” he added. “In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded.

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.”