Shortly before the end of his term in office, Joe Biden surprisingly used his power as US President and, contrary to previous statements, pardoned his convicted son Hunter. He has said since taking office that he would not interfere in the Justice Department’s decisions, Biden’s statement on the pardon said. However, his son was treated “unjustly” by the justice system.
After being found guilty of weapons law violations, the 54-year-old president’s son also pleaded guilty to various tax offenses in a second trial. The sentence in both cases was to be announced in December.
Biden speaks of “miscarriage of justice”
Biden wrote that the charges only came about after several of his political opponents in Congress had instigated them in order to harm him politically. “No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out simply because he is my son – and that is wrong.”
They tried to “break Hunter” and break him too, Biden wrote. He said he trusts the justice system, but in these cases politics influenced the process and led to a “miscarriage of justice.” He struggled with himself and made the decision at the weekend to pardon his son.
Biden had said several times that he would not do this. His term ends with the handover of power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20th.
Sentencing was expected shortly
Hunter Biden’s legal problems had put a political strain on his father. Biden had originally planned to run for president again, but after a disastrous performance in the TV duel against Trump, he dropped out of the race for the White House and left the candidacy to his deputy, Kamala Harris. She clearly lost the presidential election to Trump.
Guilty plea in tax proceedings
In September, Hunter Biden surprisingly pleaded guilty to the trial for various tax crimes, averting the trial in Los Angeles at the last minute. He was accused of failing to properly pay federal taxes for several years. The accusation is that he spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his taxes. Hunter Biden only paid his taxes retroactively.
Specifically, it covers the years 2016 to mid-October 2020. The indictment listed exactly what Hunter Biden earned in those years – including through shady foreign deals and opaque payments from a “personal friend”. Above all, the meticulous list of delicate expenses – for example for sex clubs, strippers and “adult entertainment” – caused a huge stir.
According to the US Department of Justice, he faced up to 17 years in prison in the case. However, the actual penalties for federal crimes are generally below the maximum penalties, it was said at the time. The sentencing was scheduled for December 16th.
Guilty verdict in weapons case
In the other criminal case, Hunter Biden was convicted of illegal gun possession in June. In the case, he was accused of providing false information when purchasing a weapon in October 2018 and of concealing his drug addiction at the time. He denied the allegations. The twelve jurors still found him guilty. The sentence in the weapons case was initially scheduled to be announced on November 13th, but was then postponed to December 4th.
The Delaware trial had brought a lot of sensitive private matters into the public eye. Among other things, Hunter Biden’s adult daughter Naomi had to provide information about her father’s drug addiction – as did his brother’s widow, with whom he had an affair after his death.
The president’s son faced up to 25 years in prison in the case. However, it was considered unlikely that he would be sentenced to such a long prison term because he had no criminal record. According to experts, he could have gotten away without prison.
Political burden for the father
Hunter Biden has been making negative headlines for years: alcohol addiction, drug addiction, questionable business dealings, legal disputes with an ex-stripper over support for an illegitimate child. His legal troubles were the culmination of a long series of escapades.
Republicans have long used the son’s stumbling to launch political attacks against the US president. Joe Biden repeatedly stated publicly that he loved his son and was proud of him. He had also made it clear that he would not pardon him or reduce his sentence – he has now backed away from that.
Accusations of instrumentalizing the judiciary are not new
The accusation of using the US justice system as a weapon against a political opponent is strongly reminiscent of the arguments of President-elect Trump. Trump repeatedly described the criminal proceedings against him, which, at least for the time being, have vanished into thin air given his presidency, as “illegitimate” and called for an “immediate end to the political instrumentalization” of the justice system.
