The News
US President Joe Biden issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son Hunter, who was due to be sentenced next week on federal gun and tax convictions.
The elder Biden, who had previously insisted he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence, said Hunter had been “singled out only because he is my son.”
SIGNALS
Biden’s pardon sounds conspicuously Trump-like
In pardoning his son, Biden “sounded a lot like his successor” President-elect Donald Trump, wrote The New York Times’ chief White House correspondent, “by complaining about selective prosecution and political pressure,” pointing to repeated claims by Trump that his convictions were part of a “witch hunt.” It will be difficult in future for Democrats to defend the US court system, or criticize Trump’s use of pardon power, he added. Biden’s decision has “deepened an entanglement of politics and the rule of law that has tarnished faith in American justice,” CNN wrote.
Democrats shrug off ‘fake outrage’ to laud Hunter Biden pardon
Biden’s pardon drew praise from some Democrats. “If he hadn’t, I would have told him to do so. In the words of Lizzo, it’s about damn time,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., told Semafor. Democrats had repeatedly criticized Republican investigations into Hunter’s finances and business dealings. “Trump not only pardoned Charles Kushner — he made him a fucking Ambassador to France!!! Spare me the fake outrage folks,” another Democratic House member said. Republicans still charged the outgoing president with an overreach. “This is an outrageous abuse of the rule of law,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a post on X.