A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden of rewriting history when he pardoned his son Hunter. The criticism came in connection with post-pardon lawsuits over how Hunter’s tax case could be officially resolved in California.
His gun-related prosecution in Delaware was ended Tuesday in light of the pardon. He was expected to be convicted in both cases before the president pardoned him on Sunday. That ensured neither case would proceed, but administrative questions remained over whether the two charges would be dismissed — as Hunter requested — or whether the cases would simply be terminated.
California Judge Mark Scarsi said in an order Tuesday that the case will end once the pardon is formally received by the court. But in issuing his order, the judge criticized the president’s justification of leniency toward his son.
“For example, the President claims that Mr. Biden was ‘treated differently’ than others ‘who paid their taxes late because of serious addictions,’ implying that Mr. Biden was among those who paid taxes early because of addiction. But he is not,” Scarsi wrote in his order.
“When he pleaded guilty to the charges in this case, Mr. Biden admitted that he engaged in tax evasion after This period of addiction by improperly deducting items such as business expenses that he knew were personal expenses, including luxury clothing, escort services and his daughter’s college tuition,” the judge wrote.
“The Constitution gives the President broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for crimes against the United States,” the judge wrote, “but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the power to rewrite history.”
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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
