Republican, who granted a presidential pardon to his daughter’s father-in-law in 2005, called Biden’s pardon an abuse of justice
The president-elect of the , (Republican Party), classified what was granted by the current leader of the White House, (Democratic Party), to his son, Hunter Biden, as an abuse of justice. He was accused of committing tax fraud and illegally purchasing weapons, but now he is free from any possible sentence.
Trump used a social network to speak out about the case on Sunday (Dec 1, 2024). In the publication, the Republican questioned whether the pardon granted by Biden would include the prisoners accused of the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, whom he refers to as “hostages“.
“Does Joe Biden’s pardon include the January 6th hostages, who have been imprisoned for years? This is an abuse and a failure of justice!“, said the Republican.
The official grant of pardon cannot be revoked by Trump once he takes office in January 2025.
TRUMP HAS ALREADY GRANTED A RELATIVE’S PARDEN
Despite criticism of Biden for the pardon granted to his son, Trump has already used the same measure with a relative. Near the end of his last term, in 2020, the Republican granted a pardon to Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, father of Jared Kushner.
Kushner was sentenced in 2005 to 2 years in prison for tax evasion, illegal donation to a campaign and coercion of witnesses. According to investigations at the time, Ivanka’s father-in-law hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and sent a record of the meeting to his sister.
Recently, Trump stated that he is considering nominating Kushner as United States ambassador to France.
ANOTHER CASE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Biden and Trump are not the first to grant a presidential pardon to a family member. Former President Bill Clinton (Democratic Party) pardoned Roger Clinton Jr., his half-brother, before the end of his second term, which lasted from 1997 to 2001.
Roger had been convicted of a cocaine-related crime in 1985 and pleaded guilty to the charges. He, however, received the Democrat’s pardon.
Charles Kushner and Roger Clinton even spent time in prison before being pardoned. Hunter Biden, in turn, did not go through the sentencing hearing.
BIDEN TALKS ABOUT “POLITICAL PRESSURE”
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”.
The decision contradicts statements by the president himself. The Democrat said several times that he would not grant his son an official pardon. 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 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. 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 was my son – and that is wrong. There was an effort to destroy Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, despite relentless attacks and selective prosecution”, these.
