WASHINGTON — Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter on Sunday evening, a reversal for the president, who has repeatedly said he would not use his executive power to pardon his son or commute his sentence.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have struggled with this, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in acting it out set. Furthermore, I hope that Americans will understand why a father and a president would make this decision,” Biden said in his statement.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. He was also scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
The president granted a “full and unconditional pardon” for all crimes that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or participated in during the period January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024,” the White House statement said .
A senior White House official told NBC News, which first reported the pardon decision, that the president decided to pardon his son over the weekend and began briefing his senior aides on Sunday.
The president also addressed his son’s struggle with addiction in his statement Sunday night, saying his political opponents were trying to “break” him by going after Hunter.
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden said in his statement. “An attempt has been made to break Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of persistent assaults and selective prosecution. By breaking Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason to do that. believe it will stop here.
In a separate statement, Hunter Biden said he had “admitted my mistakes and taken responsibility during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sports.”
Through it all, I have maintained my sobriety for over five years thanks to my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends,” he added. “In the grip of my addiction, I have wasted many opportunities and benefits. In recovery, we can have the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the grace that has been extended to us. I will never take for granted the clemency given to me today and will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
A representative for Special Counsel David Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell declined to comment.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump, said: “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democratic-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system. That justice system must be restored and due process must be restored for all Americans, and that is exactly what President Trump will do when he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.”
Biden, 82, is using his pardon power to ensure Hunter Biden doesn’t spend time in prison as he nears the end of his term in the White House and faces no future elections. In recent months he has said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence.
“I will not pardon him,” he said in June after a jury found Hunter Biden guilty of three federal gun charges.
The president has spoken to some of his closest aides about pardoning his son at least since Hunter Biden’s conviction in June, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions on the matter said. They said it was decided at the time that he would publicly say he would not pardon his son, even if that remained on the table.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently told reporters that Biden’s position has not changed.
“We have been asked that question several times. Our answer remains, and that is ‘no,’” she said.
When asked last week whether the president remains committed to not granting clemency to his son, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, “The president has spoken about this.” Asked whether Biden’s position has changed, Bates said: “I have nothing to add to what he already said.”
First lady Jill Biden has also said her husband would not pardon their son.
“Joe and I both respect the justice system, and that’s what it comes down to,” she said in an interview in June.
The criminal trial of Hunter Biden in June was the first involving the child of a sitting president.
Pardoning him after that trial would have created a political firestorm for his father, who was campaigning for re-election. Republicans have attacked Hunter Biden for years over his foreign business dealings, accusing him and the president of corruption. They have also argued that Hunter Biden received special treatment from the Justice Department because of his father’s political power.
GOP criticism peaked in July 2023 when Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in a deal with federal prosecutors on the tax and gun charges, which collapsed after a judge raised questions about them. That development prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland a few weeks later to appoint the U.S. attorney investigating Hunter Biden, David Weiss, as special counsel.
Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, but a pardon before last month’s election could also have caused a political backlash to Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy after she took his place on the Democratic ticket.
Together, the 12 charges Hunter Biden has been convicted or pleaded guilty to carry a maximum prison sentence of 42 years. But the maximum penalties are not typically imposed for convictions of these crimes. For example, the Justice Department has said that the maximum tax penalty is 17 years, but the penalties are generally lower.
When asked in an interview in June whether he would rule out a pardon for his son, Biden replied: “Yes.”
Days later, after Hunter Biden was convicted of federal weapons charges by a jury in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the president said in a statement that he would respect the outcome. He then told reporters that he would abide by the jury’s decision.
“I am extremely proud of my son Hunter,” Biden said. “He has overcome an addiction. He’s one of the smartest, most decent men I know, and I’m confident I won’t do anything. I said I abided by the jury’s decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.”
Joseph Ziegler, an IRS case agent turned whistleblower in Hunter Biden’s tax investigation, told NBC News last year that he opened the investigation himself after seeing bank records showing Hunter Biden paying prostitutes and lavishly spending money from a business bank account. Ziegler said politics played no role in his decision to open the case.
“I am a 38-year-old gay man,” he said. “My politics are simple. I am a Democrat.”
Neil Eggleston, President Barack Obama’s White House counsel, told NBC News on Monday that “if I were his White House counsel, I would encourage him to pardon his son.” He said he has not been contacted or consulted by the White House about any preparations for a pardon.
“The clemency power has few limitations and would certainly extend to a clemency for Hunter Biden,” Eggleston said.
Eggleston’s views echo those of other former Justice Department and White House officials previously involved in presidential pardons, who told NBC News they believed Biden should exercise this power ahead of the incoming Trump administration.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
