Joe Biden lied to the American people. In June, the US president stood in front of cameras and said he would accept a Delaware jury’s verdict against his son Hunter. “I abide by the jury’s decision,” Biden said at the time. “I won’t pardon him.” A little more than six weeks before he leaves the White House, the turnaround is now coming. Hunter Biden gets a free pass from his own father.
The president’s son was actually supposed to find out his punishments in two cases in mid-December. He was found guilty of illegally possessing a weapon. And he had confessed to evading $1.4 million in taxes. For the latter, there was a prison sentence of up to 17 years, and in the weapons case of up to 25 years. Both are now obsolete. The president said he had issued a “full and unconditional pardon” to his son.
A statement released Sunday evening said his son’s prosecution was politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.” No reasonable person looking at the facts in the cases “can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out simply because he is my son,” Biden said. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president make this decision.” The president had previously spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Massachusetts, including with Hunter and his family.
It is quite possible that there was a miscarriage of justice. There has always been a kind of witch hunt against Hunter Biden. And the Republicans and Trump have announced again and again that they want to make an example of Hunter Biden. In this respect, it may be humanly understandable that a president would want to protect his son. But Joe Biden is not only a father, but also the incumbent president. Democrats have always prided themselves on defending the rule of law, norms and institutions of the country. Anyone who trusts in a functioning justice system must not undermine it. Especially not with the president’s right to pardon.
Many experts believe it is possible that Hunter Biden would have received suspended sentences. And even if he had been sent to prison, he could have appealed the sentences. Out of prison it would have been hard and unpleasant, but that’s just how the rule of law works.
Trump is above the law, and so is a president’s son
When Donald Trump was found guilty in New York, Biden emphasized that no one is above the law. Meanwhile, the verdict against the former and future president has been postponed indefinitely. Two proceedings at the federal level are currently being processed. Donald Trump, which is also the bitter result after the last election, is actually above the law. And now Joe Biden comes along and says: my son too.
In doing so, the 82-year-old is doing massive damage to the American constitutional state. He puts his personal interest above the welfare of the country. He served the United States as a senator, vice president and president for more than five decades. The fact that he stuck to his plans for re-election for ages is one thing. In doing so, he robbed his party of the chance of victory and paved the way for Donald Trump to return to the White House. It is quite another to abuse your office for nepotism. Joe Biden, it has to be said so harshly, is sinning in his last days in office.
What’s more, the president is setting a dangerous precedent. Trump announced during the election campaign that he wanted to pardon those criminals who were convicted in the storming of the Capitol after January 6, 2021. On Sunday evening, the president-elect spoke out via Truth Social and asked whether the pardon for Hunter Biden also included the “J-6 hostages”. Trump has been using the word “hostages” to discredit the rule of law for a long time. If he gets serious back in office, how will the Democrats be able to credibly criticize the president?
Joe Biden made a fatally wrong decision – one that the country may suffer from for years to come.
