U.S. President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month for federal tax and gun convictions as he prepares to leave office.
In a statement issued by the
White House on Sunday, December 1, Biden said that his son had been “singled
out” and “selectively, and unfairly” prosecuted due to his family name.
This official grant of clemency
cannot be rescinded by President-elect Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to
be sentenced on Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. He also was
set to be sentenced on Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded
guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
"I believe in the justice
system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has
infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and 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 said in his statement.
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.
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."
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for
President-elect Donald Trump, said, "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. 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."
Post a Comment