Despite the promise: Biden pardons his son

Published 2 December 2024 at 08.37

Foreign. US President Joe Biden now chooses – just before he leaves – to pardon his own son Hunter Biden, reports NBC News. This arouses very strong criticism, not least as the president previously promised dearly and sacredly to “never” do this very thing.

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Hunter Biden soon faced prison time after being convicted of federal gun charges and pleading guilty to tax felony charges.

The decision, which was announced Sunday night, involves a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes Hunter Biden may have committed between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.

Joe Biden himself has repeatedly promised in the past that he would not spare his son. But in a statement the president now justifies his decision by saying that the legal process against the son had become politicized and unfair.

– I believe in the legal system, but politics has infected this process and led to a judicial murder, says Biden and continues:

– I hope Americans understand why a father and president makes this decision.

p>The sentence against Hunter Biden was to be announced later in December. In a statement of his own, he takes responsibility for his actions during what he calls the “darkest days” of his struggle with addiction, but at the same time expresses gratitude for his recovery and the support of his family.

– In recovery, we are given the opportunity to make amends and rebuild our lives, he says. I will never take the grace I received for granted.

The decision has drawn fierce criticism from Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, who on Truth Social is calling it a clear abuse of rights. As president, Trump himself pardoned, among other things, his own daughter's criminal father-in-law Charles Kushner, whom he has now also nominated to become ambassador to France.

Critics also point to how respect for the United States and political governance is damaged by such obvious example of nepotism.