Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has antagonized both sides of the American political divide, with Republicans crying hypocrisy as Democrats warn it undermines efforts to rein in Donald Trump.
Biden’s announcement shocked Washington, after he entered the White House in 2021 vowing to restore the ‘integrity’ of a justice system that Democrats said had been corrupted by Trump – and because he had specifically vowed not to reprieve his son.
But on Sunday the president instead issued a ‘full and unconditional’ pardon on Sunday, absolving 54-year-old Hunter Biden of any wrongdoing over the last decade ahead of his looming sentencing over gun and tax convictions.
Biden argued that his son had been targeted in a politicized prosecution launched under the Trump administration and that ‘there’s no reason to believe it will stop here.’
People DailyMail.com spoke to in New York City appeared to be mostly against Biden’s actions with few surprised that he issued the pardon.
‘I wouldn’t pardon my own daughter,’ said one woman. ‘I don’t think any president should be pardoning family members. There has to be some kind of committee that does it.’
‘It doesn’t sound right,’ said another in the fall sunshine on Monday. ‘He had said that he wasn’t going to pardon his son, and then he did.’
Another New Yorker had a more pragmatic approach to the situation.
Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has antagonized both sides of the American political divide, with Republicans crying hypocrisy and Democrats warning it undermines efforts to rein in Donald Trump
People DailyMail.com spoke to in New York City appeared to be mostly against Biden’s actions. This woman said she wouldn’t even pardon her own daughter
‘If we are pardoning crackheads, then okay, whatever. You know, if you break the law, do the time,’ the man reasoned. ‘Or don’t break the law? I don’t think anybody should be pardoned.’
‘This is horrible and embarrassing,’ added another. I suppose you’ve got to do what you can while you’re still there,’ seemingly giving Biden an allowance.
‘Who among us could say they wouldn’t pardon their son as president?’, asked one woman ‘It does feel like a short-sighted move on Joe Biden’s part.’
Another member of the public was more concerned about the effect it might have on the incoming administration.
‘We’re trying to gear ourselves up to resist Trump and authoritarianism – and then to have the Democrats with such blatant corruption… I think it’s emboldening even more corruption by the Republicans,’ he said.
One man wasn’t surprised at all by Biden’s actions and had a more cynical response.
‘It’s hypocrisy. You know, he said he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t adhere to his promise. Typical politician.’
While politicians typically pay lip service to the importance of independent law enforcement, Democrats and Republicans offer different justifications for suspicion of the Justice Department and presidents of both stripes have protected allies.
‘Let the courts decide!’ one man demanded, left. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime’, another parkgoer added, right
One woman wasn’t surprised at Biden’s antics, left. ‘This is horrible and embarrassing’, this man, right, said he was worried about the future implications
‘Who among us could say they wouldn’t pardon their son as president?’, asked one woman, left. ‘It’s hypocrisy. You know, he said he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t adhere to his promise. Typical politician,’ said this man, right
Trump wielded the pardon power liberally in favor of convicts with whom he had personal relationships, including his daughter’s father-in-law Charles Kushner, his friend Roger Stone and his 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Biden announced Hunter’s pardon in a statement arguing that the charges against his son were brought in a process infected with ‘raw politics.’
Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury in June of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun and pleaded guilty in a separate tax evasion trial in September.
The president and his team had been adamant that he would not pardon his son, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre making the claim as recently as November 7.
Charges for the gun offense are rare, and the president – in language that CNN likened to Trump’s rhetoric on law and order – argued that his own Justice Department had been wielded unfairly for political purposes.
Seeking to justify his about-face, Biden said that ‘Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.’
But Republicans argued that the pardon demonstrated that the sitting president, and not his incoming replacement, was politicizing the system.
President Joe Biden accompanied by his son Hunter Biden and his grandson Beau leave a book store as they walk in downtown Nantucket Massachusetts, last Friday
Donald Trump sees Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter as a symptom of a broken justice system politicized by the liberal left but did not directly criticize the president for the move
Biden explained his decision to pardon Hunter in a lengthy statement on Sunday night
Insiders are now saying Joe Biden was considering a pardon for months after Hunter’s conviction in a federal gun case over the summer
Meanwhile Democrats worried that Trump would use Biden’s action to justify pardoning rioters jailed after the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
‘Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?’ Trump wrote in a post on his platform, Truth Social, on Sunday. ‘Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!’
Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Biden’s son had brought his legal woes on himself and accused the president of having ‘put his family ahead of the country.’
‘This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,’ Polis posted on X. ‘When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation.’
Political scientist Nicholas Creel, of Georgia College and State University argues however that nothing Biden does before leaving office will affect the actions of a successor who ‘simply does not care about precedent.’
‘Trump was never going to need an excuse to do whatever he wants once he takes office,’ he said.
‘So while I’m sure we’ll get plenty of pundits claiming that Biden pardoning his son opens the door for Trump to use his pardon power in overtly personal and political ways, I find it laughable that this wasn’t always going to be the case.’
