In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden writes that he pardons his son and that Hunter Biden has been selectively and unfairly prosecuted.
Hunter Biden, 54, was convicted in June of this year of illegal gun possession after lying about his drug use when applying for a gun license, a crime that carries up to 25 years in prison.
In September of this year, he pleaded guilty to tax crimes and the verdict in both cases would have been announced in December.
Made the decision during the celebration
The White House has repeatedly said that Biden would not pardon or commute the sentence for his son, but the president celebrated thanksgiving this weekend with his son and his family and is said to have made the decision to pardon – something that surprises Fredrik Bergman Evans, lawyer and constitutional law expert .
– I think we see here now that it is father Biden who acts and puts the family before the principles. Which on the one hand is somewhat surprising, because Joe Biden has been a president who has wanted to stand up for the principles and protect the institutions, he says.
– But I also think that on a personal level he feels let down by the system and that means that he does not feel that he needs to stand up for the principles in the same way, the lawyer continues.
“Harmful decision”
Fredrik Bergman Evans believes that Biden has made a wrong decision.
– I think this will play into Donald Trump’s hands and that this was a harmful decision that he made.
Donald Trump comments on the pardon by asking if it also applies to those convicted of the storming of the Capitol, which Trump believes are wrongly convicted.