The decision, which was first reported by NBC News, is a reversal for the president, who repeatedly said he would not use his authority to pardon his son or commute his sentence.

Summary

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, reversing his prior stance against using executive clemency.

The pardon covers Hunter’s federal gun conviction and tax evasion guilty plea, sparking political controversy.

Biden cited political attacks and a “miscarriage of justice” as reasons for his decision, emphasizing his son’s recovery from addiction and the targeting of his family.

Critics argue the move undermines the judicial process, while supporters view it as within Biden’s constitutional powers.

This decision shields Hunter from potential prison time as Biden nears the end of his presidency.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
    53·
    23 days ago

    I don’t care who his dad is the law is a thought crime that can get you put in prison on nothing more than innuendo. Make a bad joke about drugs after going to a shooting range? You too can go to prison.

    And it’s rarely used as anything more than an add on charge because of its constitutional dubiousness. We shouldn’t be okay with this happening to anyone.

    • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
      21·
      23 days ago

      I never agreed with the law. I am mad that he broke a law, one his dad fought for, and he isn’t going to go to prison for it like I would. The law its self is a whole other matter than what is being discussed here, about him being pardoned, after being convicted of a crime, because daddy is the president, with the extra poignancy that daddy is one of the major reasons that law exists.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
        2·
        23 days ago

        Biden was at Syracuse University in 1968. He would go on to be elected to the County Council. He didn’t become a Senator until 1973. So how exactly was he, “one of the major reasons that law exists”, when he wasn’t even an elected official at the time.

        • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
          12·
          23 days ago

          Didn’t say he wrote it, or that he voted to initially pass it. I said he is a major reason it exists. This law has come under fire numerous times, and Joe has always supported it, rather than supporting over-turning it. Even as recently as 2023, after the supreme court decided it was unconstitutional, he still staunchly showed his support for it.

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
            1·
            22 days ago

            with the extra poignancy that daddy is one of the major reasons that law exists.

            Funny, that sounds a lot like he either created it or filibustered its repeal. Do you have evidence he did a filibuster? Or is this another thing Fox News threw out there to smear him? Because that sentence sure doesn’t sound like he’s just got the cheerleading poms poms out.

            • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
              11·
              22 days ago

              From what I have read, after making my original correction, it has been on the line to be removed, or changed, a handful of times over the decades. Biden has always voted in support, and worked to convince other congress members that it should stay. So, yeah, he has used his political capital in order to make sure it stayed in, at least as recently as the negotiations of the 1994 crime bill.