Although speculation had been building that Joe Biden might pardon his son, Hunter, before the end of the current term, when it became official this week the news sent shockwaves across D.C. and beyond.
One prominent figure who was particularly outspoken was President Donald Trump, who addressed the move in a social media post on Sunday.
As The Hill reported:
President-elect Trump called President Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, “an abuse and miscarriage of justice” Sunday.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” the president-elect said in a post on Truth Social, seemingly referring to rioters who have been accused of storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.
Biden announced earlier Sunday that he signed his son’s pardon and argued in a statement that the charges that his son had faced came about due to political reasons.
“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 a 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,” he added. “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.”
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Biden’s previous assertion that he would not pardon his son has come back to haunt him in the form of condemnatory social media posts:
One of the best supercuts ever.
President Biden won't pardon Hunter because Joe Biden is a man of great character! 🤣😂pic.twitter.com/lM8aTRGrq5
— MAZE (@mazemoore) December 2, 2024
Biden a few months ago: I will not pardon Hunter
Biden today: I pardoned Hunter
All Democrats do is lie. pic.twitter.com/Ii2B9kAlqy
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 2, 2024
🚨 #BREAKING: Joe Biden has officially pardoned his son Hunter Biden
This comes after Biden and the White House lied COUNTLESS times saying Joe would not pardon his son.
EVERYTHING THIS ADMINISTRATION DOES IS A LIE! pic.twitter.com/Be5GI3WyKq
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 2, 2024
And it’s not only Biden’s political rivals who have a problem with the pardon.
According to the New York Post:
Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis blasted President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter — saying Sunday that Biden “put his family ahead of the country” and that the move would “tarnish his reputation.”
The stinging rebuke from the possible 2028 presidential contender came as Biden, 82, prepared to fly to Angola for an official visit — limiting his exposure to questions about the pardon.
“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Polis, 49, tweeted.
“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation.”
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Here’s some additional coverage of the development:
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