President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter on Sunday evening, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence on federal gun and tax convictions and reversing his previous promises not to use the presidency’s extraordinary powers to benefit his family members.
The Democratic president had previously said he would not forgive his son or commute his sentence following his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his sentence following his conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
It caps a long-running legal saga involving the president’s son, who publicly announced he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son stood trial in the Delware gun case: “I stand by the jury’s decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
As recently as November 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying: “We’ve been asked that question several times. Our answer remains: no.”
In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” claiming his son’s prosecution was politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.”
“The charges in his cases only came after several of my political opponents in Congress incited them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said. “No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out solely because he is my son.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision over the weekend. The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Hunter and his family in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
He was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
He was scheduled to stand trial in September in the California case, in which he was accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and misdemeanor charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.
Hunter Biden said he pleaded guilty in that case to spare his family more pain and shame after the gun trial revealed salacious details about his struggle with crack cocaine addiction.
The tax charges carry a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison and the weapons charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years, although federal sentencing guidelines were expected to require much less time and it was possible he would avoid prison time entirely.
Spokespeople for special counsel David Weiss, who brought the cases, and Hunter Biden’s attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Sunday evening.
This is a development story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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