President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter dismayed many political figures, including Democratic elected officials, who said they worried that the protection offered to the president’s child could undermine faith in the criminal justice system.
Critics said Biden’s action might embolden President-elect Donald Trump to pardon his allies, including the hundreds of people who invaded the U.S. Capitol in 2021 in hopes of overturning Trump’s loss to Biden in the 2020 election.
Others defended the Hunter Biden pardon, saying the president was protecting his son from a campaign of retribution Trump has promised to wage against his political opponents.
The elder Biden issued the pardon Sunday, sparing his 54-year-old son from a possible prison sentence for federal gun and tax convictions. The president had previously promised he would not pardon his son.
“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) wrote on the X social media site Monday.
Colorado’s Democratic governor agreed.
“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him,” Gov. Jared Polis wrote on X, “I am disappointed that he 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.”
Referencing Hunter Biden’s struggles as a recovering drug addict, Polis added: “Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
One of the state’s Democratic members of Congress also called the pardon “a mistake.”
“Presidents hold enormous power and responsibility and must be held to a higher standard,” Rep. Jason Crow wrote on X. “They must instill trust and promote the American people’s faith in their democracy. And right now, upholding the fabric of our democracy is one of our most important tasks.”
Others wondered how Biden could justify his action while not pardoning others who had suffered more.
“There are a trail of shattered homes and broken families as a result of convictions for some of the crimes that Hunter was just absolved of. Where is their pardon?” Darvio Morrow, a radio entrepreneur wrote in an essay, saying Black men had suffered disproportionately.
Several Republicans who had come out against Trump — in part for what they described as his abuse of the rule of law — also chastised Biden.
“Biden is doing exactly the wrong thing by pardoning Hunter,” John Bolton, former national security advisor under Trump, wrote on X. “This will now give Trump the license to pardon all of his supporters including those from Jan 6th.”
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh told MSNBC he worried Trump would twist the pardon for his own ends.
“This just furthers the cynicism that people have about politics, and that cynicism strengthens Trump, because Trump can just say, ‘I’m not a unique threat. Everybody does this,’ “ Walsh said. “This was a selfish move by Biden, which politically only strengthens Trump. It’s just deflating.”
Indeed, social media sites were awash Monday in mashups of Democrats and liberal commentators insisting during the heat of the presidential race that Biden had taken the high road by declining to pardon his son.
Some Democrats defended Biden’s action, noting that Trump had his own challenges, including his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money case involving his relationship with pornography star Stormy Daniels.
”If you defended the 34x felon, who committed sexual assault, stole national security documents, and tried running a coup on his country … you can sit out the Hunter Biden pardon discussion,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) wrote on X.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) posted a video in which she contends that a Republican investigation in the House drove the prosecution of Hunter Biden.
“I will say, way to go Joe,” Crockett said. “Let me be the first one to congratulate the president for deciding to do this, because at the end of the day, we know that we have a 34-count convicted felon that is about to walk into the White House.”
Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
He entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor charges in California in a case in which he originally was charged with failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.
Some Biden defenders said prosecutors took a particularly stern stance against the younger Biden to prove there was no favoritism.
Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Obama, posted on X: “Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been — fundamentally and more fairly — a declination” on filing criminal charges.
