Joe Biden announces surprising presidential pardon for his son over federal charges

Outgoing US president Joe Biden has U-turned on a previous promise not to pardon his son Hunter from the federal charges he is facing.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June on three felonies related to buying a gun in 2018, with prosecutors arguing that he lied in his paperwork by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He also issued a guilty plea over accusations that he had not paid at least $1.4 million (£1.1 million) in taxes, saying he’d decided to plead guilty to spare his family embarrassment, after the previous trial over the gun charges had revealed details about his addiction to crack cocaine.

The gun conviction carried a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, while the tax charges could put someone behind bars for up to 17 years. However, sentencing guidelines would likely have called for much less time than that and it would even have been possible that Hunter Biden would not have gone to prison.

However, despite previously promising to the contrary, his father has now pardoned him.

Joe Biden repeatedly said he would not pardon his son Hunter, but has now announced that he's issued a 'full and unconditional' pardon. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Joe Biden repeatedly said he would not pardon his son Hunter, but has now announced that he’s issued a ‘full and unconditional’ pardon. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Joe Biden will be leaving the White House next month after announcing he would not be seeking a second term as president, and since his party lost the election it will be Donald Trump and the Republicans returning for a second term to replace him there.

Biden’s administration had repeatedly denied that the president would pardon his son, including on 8 November after the election result made it clear that Trump would soon be occupying the White House once again.

On that day the White House press secretary said: “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”

Since then, the US president issued a statement declaring that he had now changed his mind and granted his son a ‘full and unconditional’ pardon, arguing that the prosecution had been a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and politically motivated.

He said: “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.

“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.”

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”

Biden is not going to be president again and leaves the job next month with Donald Trump set to take his place. (EVAN VUCCI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden is not going to be president again and leaves the job next month with Donald Trump set to take his place. (EVAN VUCCI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Hunter Biden said in a statement: “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.”

The U-turn is surprising in one aspect, considering the repeated denials that Biden would pardon his son, but very unsurprising in another regard considering the US judicial system is about to be handed over to a man who makes reference to the ‘Biden Crime Family’, and has alleged that they are running a ‘criminal enterprise’.

Donald Trump released a statement following the announcement of the pardon, making reference to the people who were imprisoned during the attempted insurrection on 6 January, 2021 and claiming it was ‘an abuse and miscarriage of justice’.

Trump said: “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”

When Trump last exited the White House, he issued a significant number of pardons for those associated with him who had been connected to criminal investigations surrounding his administration.

At the end of the day, the 82-year-old Biden is not going to be president again and while he still has the power to do so, he has removed the possibility of his son facing jail time, any political consequences of this will not be borne by Joe Biden.

Featured Image Credit: Teresa Kroeger / Getty Images / Mario Tama / Getty Images

Topics: US News, Joe Biden, Politics, Crime

Donald Trump brutally responds after Joe Biden officially drops out of 2024 presidential race

Donald Trump brutally responds after Joe Biden officially drops out of 2024 presidential race

It’s the sort of response you’d expect from Donald Trump

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Donald Trump has responded to Joe Biden’s announcement that he will be stepping down from the 2024 election and will not seek a second term as US president.

In a message posted on Twitter, Biden wrote: “My Fellow Americans, over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.

“Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans.

“We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years.

“Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

“I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people.

“Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

Joe Biden will not seek a second term as US president. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Joe Biden will not seek a second term as US president. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

“I will speak to the National later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected.

“I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

“I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America”

Biden later endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris to take his spot as the Democratic nominee, saying he would give his ‘full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year’.

The president’s age had been a factor in criticism of him, with the 81-year-old performing poorly in a recent debate against Trump.

Donald Trump hit out at Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Donald Trump hit out at Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who lost the 2020 election to Biden, responded to the news on his own social media platform Truth Social.

Trump wrote: “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement.

“All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t – And now, look what he’s done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists.

“We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Joe Biden had won the overwhelming support of his party to seek a second term as president, and the Democrats will now have to choose someone else as their nominee for the November election.

This is the latest a US party’s presumptive nominee has ever stepped out of the race.

As the Democrats try to figure out who they would put in the White House should they win the 2024 election, the Republicans will have to recalibrate based on who they end up facing.

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