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US President Joe Biden has issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing in two criminal cases, although he previously ruled it out.
In a statement, the president said his son had been “selected” and called his cases “a miscarriage of justice.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges in early September and was found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June, becoming the first son of a sitting president to was convicted of a crime.
Reacting to the pardon, President-elect Donald Trump said: “The pardon given by Joe Hunter includes the hostages (January 6th), who have now been imprisoned for years? An abuse and a miscarriage of justice!”.
The full and unconditional pardon comes after the president previously said he would not grant clemency to his son.
Just a couple of months ago, in September, the White House press secretary said Biden would not pardon his son.
But on Sunday evening, President Biden said that while he believed in the justice system, “politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice.”
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word even though I have watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted,” he said. .
Biden said he struggled with the decision, adding, “Once I made that decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any longer.”
“I hope the American people will understand why a father and a president would make this decision,” he said.
In a reaction statement, Hunter Biden said the mistakes he made during the darkest days of his addiction had been “exploited to publicly humiliate and shame” his family for political sport.
“I will never take for granted the clemency I have been given today and I will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” the 54-year-old added.
The younger Biden has been sober for five and a half years, his father said.
It is not the first time that a president of the United States has pardoned a member of his family.
Bill Clinton pardoned his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton, for a cocaine-related offense in 2001 in 1985.
In 2020, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of his daughter Ivanka. President-elect Trump recently did announced Kushner as ambassador to France in his new cabinet.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax fraud in September, for which he faced up to 17 years in prison.
He was also convicted of three felonies related to the purchase of a gun in June, for which he faced up to 25 years in prison.
The sentence for these cases had been scheduled for December 12 and 16.
His legal troubles had been a dark cloud over his father’s presidential campaign, which ended the following July Biden withdrew from the electoral race.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic nominee, who lost the election to Republican Donald Trump in november
Trump will take over the Oval Office from Biden on January 20, 2025, Inauguration Day.
