President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after the former was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year, multiple reports noted on Sunday. The White House announced the pardon on Sunday night, stating that it covers offenses Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” against the United States from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024. “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 Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
The president went on to claim that his son was “treated differently” by prosecutors. “Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” Biden added. “Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
Biden also mentioned his son’s struggle with addiction and attributed the breakdown of Hunter’s plea deal to “raw politics.” He added: “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.” Continuing, the president wrote: “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
President-elect Donald Trump responded to Joe Biden’s unexpected decision on Sunday to pardon his son. Biden’s choice to issue the pardon — after previously stating he would not intervene — sparked widespread attention and debate nationwide. In a Truth Social post Sunday evening, Trump remarked that Biden should have extended pardons to the January 6 protesters. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
Trump’s team also reacted to the pardon. “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Trump’s incoming White House communications chief Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox News. “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.”