Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to 9 counts of tax fraud and illegal gun purchase; the Democrat alleges “political pressure” in the convictions
The President of the United States, Joe Biden (Democrat), conceded this Sunday (Dec 1, 2024) “complete and unconditional forgiveness” to his son Hunter Biden. With the measure, the first-born son of the North American Chief Executive avoids a possible sentence.
In an official statement, the Democrat states that he grants the pardon “for the crimes he committed or may have committed or participated in during the period from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024”. Read the full text below.
The decision contradicts statements by the president himself. The Democrat said several times that he would officially pardon his son. In the White House statement, Biden argues that his son was treated differently and that the accusations were influenced by pressure from his political opponents in Congress.
“Without aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a gun as an undercover purchaser, people are rarely brought to trial on felony charges simply because of how they filled out a gun ownership form. Those who were late in paying taxes due to serious defects, but later paid with interest and penalties, generally receive non-criminal resolutions. It’s clear that Hunter was treated differently.”he declared.
He alleges that a deal with the court that convicted Biden was undone by “political pressure”.
“No reasonable person examining the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any conclusion other than that he was chosen specifically because he is my son – and that is wrong. There was an effort to destroy Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution.”these.
Read Joe Biden’s full translated statement:
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decisions of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word, even though I saw my son being selectively and unfairly prosecuted. Without aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a gun as an undercover buyer, people are rarely brought to trial on felony charges simply because of how they filled out a gun ownership form. Those who were late in paying taxes due to serious defects, but later paid with interest and penalties, generally receive non-criminal resolutions. Of course, Hunter was treated differently.
“The charges in their cases arose only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated these actions to attack me and oppose my election. Then a carefully negotiated guilty plea agreed to by the Department of Justice fell apart in the courtroom – with several of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for exerting political pressure on the process. If the plea bargain had been upheld, it would have been a fair and reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
“No reasonable person examining the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any conclusion other than that he was chosen specifically because he was my son – and that is wrong. There was an effort to destroy Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution. By trying to destroy Hunter, they tried to destroy me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop there. That’s enough.
“Throughout my career, I have followed a simple principle: always tell the truth to the American people. They will be fair. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I reflected on this, I also believe that partisan politics has tainted this process, leading to injustice – and once I made that decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it. it even more. I hope Americans understand why a father and a president would make this decision.
“Grant of Executive Clemency
“Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States of America
“To All Whom This Document May Reach, Greetings:
“Be it Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, In Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted
“ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN
“A Complete and Unconditional Forgiveness
“For crimes against the United States that he committed or may have committed or participated in during the period January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including, but not limited to, all crimes charged or prosecuted (including those resulting in convictions) by Special Prosecutor David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS -1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
“IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed my name and caused the Pardon to be filed with the Department of Justice.
“Done in the City of Washington, this first day of December in the year of our Lord, two thousand and twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States, the two hundred and forty-ninth.”
HUNTER’S CONVICTIONS
Hunter Biden is accused of committing tax fraud and illegally purchasing weapons. In September, the Democrat’s son guilty of 9 counts of tax fraud. He was charged with failing to pay at least US$1.4 million (R$4.9 million) in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019. The charges included:
- serious tax evasion;
- fraudulent filing of tax returns;
- non-payment of taxes; and
- failure to submit tax returns.
Prosecutors also accuse Hunter of spending money on luxury cars, extravagant hotels and prostitutes instead of paying the taxes he owed. Biden paid about $2 million in back taxes and fines after learning of the investigation and recovering from treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
At the time, Hunter pleaded guilty after an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a deal to accept the sentence without a guilty plea. The appeal was replaced without prior agreement with the prosecutor’s office
In June, he had already been convicted of illegally purchasing a weapon. A federal court jury in Delaware ruled that Hunter lied when he said he did not use drugs when he filled out the necessary paperwork to purchase the equipment. At the time, the US president’s firstborn was addicted to drugs such as cocaine and crack.
He was accused of:
- making a false statement when purchasing a firearm;
- making a false statement relating to information required to be maintained by a federally licensed firearms dealer; and
- possession of a firearm by a person who is an illegal user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
