Biden’s pardon for son shows presidents are acting differently now

Joe Biden had repeatedly denied this that he was going to pardon his son Hunter for his gun and tax evasion convictions or commute what was shaping up to be a substantial prison sentence.

On the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, at a time when the American public’s attention was decidedly elsewhere, he announced that he had changed his mind.

“There has been an effort to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecutions,” he wrote in a press release announcing his decision. “By trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me, and there’s no reason to believe it’s going to stop there. Enough is enough.”

Biden’s move has already sparked furious claims of hypocrisy from Republicans, for breaking his promise and using his presidential power to protect his son. A Democratic governor, Jared Polis of Colorado, quickly released a statement saying he was “disappointed” and that the move would “tarnish” the outgoing president’s reputation.

Presidents have pardoned family members in the past. In 2001, Bill Clinton issued clemency for his brother Roger’s 1985 drug conviction. However, Hunter Biden’s “full and unconditional” pardon was particularly broad. It covers his criminal convictions as well as any future charges for “crimes against the United States” from early 2014 through this Sunday.

That time period includes two years Hunter Biden served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma and was involved in other international businesses while his father was vice president. Republicans have alleged that Hunter Biden had improperly benefited from his father’s position of power and that the elder Biden had been connected to his son’s businesses.

The president’s explanation for the pardon may sound familiar to anyone who has heard Donald Trump criticize the US justice system in recent years.

Trump, when he left the White House in 2021, issued a series of pardons for his close aides and allies who had been dragged into the multiple criminal investigations surrounding him throughout his presidency. In doing so, he bypassed established White House procedures for exercising the broad presidential pardon power. And although he was criticized for the action at the time, the political consequences were few or none.

Last week, in fact, Trump announced that he was naming one of his 2021 pardon recipients – Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to be the US ambassador to France. Kushner had been convicted of campaign finance violations, tax evasion and witness tampering in 2005 and served two years in prison.

However, as Biden’s political career winds down, there is little price he could pay for his action. And given that Democrats lost power in both Congress and the White House last month, there are few members of the party in a position of power to deal with the fallout.

Had Vice President Kamala Harris won, her presidential transition would have been derailed at least temporarily, as she would have been pressured to condemn Biden’s move. It may be that such a forceful act by Biden was less likely. Instead, national attention will quickly turn to Trump’s incoming presidency.

The rules governing the presidential pardon – or, at the very least, the established processes and barriers that had guided its use – appear to have been fundamentally and permanently altered. At this point, there may be little reason for anyone to complain, regardless of which side of the political aisle they’re on.

Trump’s camp quickly responded to news of Biden’s pardon, saying the president-elect would fix America’s justice system and restore due process in his second term.

It’s something to keep an eye on when Trump returns to office, as he is expected to use his pardon power again to help associates who have been prosecuted during Biden’s presidency and to free many of his supporters who have been convicted during the January 6, 2021. assault on the United States Capitol.

Trump mentioned the Jan. 6 cases when he criticized Hunter Biden’s pardon, and is likely to cite the president’s action when he issues his own round of pardons next year.

Both sides will continue to accuse the other of partisan prosecutions and governing as if they are above the law. An American public that polls suggest is already skeptical of ethics in government may now be even more convinced that both sides share the blame.