Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
Joe Biden had previously stated that he would not pardon his son, Hunter, for his gun and tax evasion convictions, nor commute a potential prison sentence.
However, on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving - when much of the American public was focused elsewhere, he announced that he had changed his stance.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, despite constant attacks and what I see as selective prosecution,” Biden said in a statement. “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.”
The decision has already sparked strong reactions from Republicans, accusing Biden of hypocrisy for breaking his promise and using his presidential power to protect his son. One Democratic governor, Jared Polis of Colorado, quickly expressed disappointment, saying the move could “tarnish” the president’s legacy.
Presidents have pardoned family members before. In 2001, Bill Clinton granted clemency to his brother Roger for a 1985 drug conviction. However, Hunter Biden’s pardon is particularly wide-ranging. It covers not only his criminal convictions but also any future charges for offenses against the United States from 2014 to this past Sunday.
This period includes the two years that Hunter Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and was involved in other international dealings while his father was vice president.
With Biden’s political career nearing its end, there is little consequence he may face for this decision. Given that Democrats lost control of both Congress and the White House last month, few members of the party hold enough power to challenge or respond to the move.
Had Vice President Kamala Harris won the presidency, her transition to office would likely have been delayed, as she would have been pressured to publicly condemn Biden’s action. This could have made such a sweeping move by Biden less likely. Instead, national attention is quickly shifting back to the incoming Trump administration.
The rules surrounding presidential pardons - at least the processes and norms that had previously guided their use, now appear to have been fundamentally changed. It’s unclear if there will be any significant pushback, regardless of political affiliation.
"With this decision, Biden has now made it easier for Trump to misuse the clemency power again," said Jeffrey Crouch, a legal expert from American University. "If presidents from both political parties feel free to abuse clemency without consequence, the pardon power becomes less a tool of grace and more a political instrument."
The Trump campaign was quick to respond to the news of Biden’s pardon, stating that the president-elect would work to reform the US justice system and restore due process during his second term.
This is a key point to remember when Trump returns to office. He is expected to use his pardoning power to benefit associates who were prosecuted during Biden’s presidency, as well as to grant clemency to many of his supporters convicted for their roles in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
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