US President Joe Biden is enjoying his final weeks at the White House. The octogenarian finally went back on his word by pardoning his son Hunter on Sunday, December 1, who was awaiting his sentence in cases of illegal possession of a firearm and tax evasion. “No reasonable person looking at the facts in the Hunter cases can come to any conclusion other than this: Hunter was singled out solely because he is my son – and that is wrong,” the 82-year-old Democrat said in a statement, describing “a miscarriage of justice.”
Joe Biden’s youngest son was also convicted this year of lying about his drug addiction when purchasing a weapon – a misdemeanor in the state of Delaware, Biden’s stronghold. This ex-lawyer and businessman, now converted to painting, was still waiting to know what sentence he would receive in each of these cases. “I said that I would not interfere with the decision-making of the Department of Justice and I kept my word even when I saw my son being prosecuted in a selective and unfair manner,” defended Joe Biden in his press release. “I believe in the justice system but […] I also believe (that a) crude form of politics has infected this process and (that) this has led to a miscarriage of justice.”
The American leader had however assured several times that he would not grant a presidential pardon to his son. As recently as September, the White House reaffirmed this. “A remarkable about-face”, notes the Wall Street Journal. This decision is sure to raise new questions about the independence of the American judicial system, particularly at a time when President-elect Donald Trump has decided to appoint loyal supporters to head the FBI and the Department of Justice. At the same time, criminal cases against the future US president have stalled since the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling on presidential immunity, likely ensuring Joe Biden’s Republican rival will never serve prison time , even after his conviction for falsification of accounting documents last May.
Presidential pardon, a lever often used
American presidents have already used pardons to help members of their family or political allies. Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother convicted of cocaine possession and Donald Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law convicted of tax evasion, although in both cases the men had already served their prison sentences. Donald Trump has promised to pardon all those convicted of invading the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the victory of his opponent Joe Biden. The Republican made reference to it in a message posted to his Truth Social network Sunday evening, writing: “Does Joe’s pardon of Hunter include the (January 6) hostages, who have been imprisoned for years? What abuse and What a miscarriage of justice!”
The announcement to pardon his son came at a time when Donald Trump had indicated that his second term “would be focused on retaliation and revenge against Joe Biden – with Hunter Biden as the main target”, recalls the American daily of New York Times. For his part, the main person concerned had pleaded guilty during a trial to tax evasion in September, a case in which he risked up to 17 years in prison. For the use of firearms, he faced 25 years of imprisonment. In a statement to American media, Hunter Biden said he would “dedicate the life (he has) rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
His lawyers argued that it was only because he was the president’s son that he was brought to justice. Hunter Biden paid back taxes, as well as penalties imposed by authorities, and had already reached a deal that would have allowed him to avoid prison, but that deal was broken at the last minute. His case has long been a thorn in the side of the Biden family, particularly during this election year when Republicans have accused the youngest son of the American president of benefiting from excessive indulgence.