The American president announced yesterday Sunday that he granted a pardon to Hunter’s son, who was waiting to learn his sentences, after his convictions in two cases, related to illegal possession of weapons and tax evasion.
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of the cases involving Hunter can come to any other conclusion than this: Hunter was discriminated against because he was only my son — and that’s unfair,” the outgoing head of state said. , speaking of “mistrial”.
The Democratic head of state had repeatedly assured that he would not proceed with the granting of a presidential pardon to his son. The White House only reaffirmed this in September.
Hunter Biden, 54, pleaded guilty that month in a Los Angeles court to tax fraud, avoiding a new trial.
The two cases for which he is charged
The former lawyer and businessman, who has now decided to devote himself to painting, was facing charges of tax fraud and tax evasion, because he did not pay taxes due at the federal level from 2016 to 2019, amounts amounting to 1.4 million. dollars, while at the same time spending recklessly on drugs, sex and luxury goods.
Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to a charge of falsely declaring he was not addicted to drugs when buying a handgun, a felony in the Biden stronghold of Delaware. He expected to learn his sentences for the two cases in December.
Let’s take a look at the two cases in more detail.
What happened in the tax evasion case?
In September of this year, Biden was set to face a federal trial over allegations that he intentionally evaded paying $1.4 million in income taxes. dollars from 2016-19.
After initially pleading not guilty, he changed his plea at the last minute, accepting all nine charges. Three were felony tax violations and the remaining six were misdemeanors.
The indictment details how Biden obtained $7 million. dollars in income from its overseas business transactions between 2016-19, spending about 5 million dollars during this period for “everything but his taxes.”
Those purchases included drugs, luxury escorts, luxury hotels, luxury cars and clothing, which Biden falsely characterized as business expenses.
He faced a maximum sentence of 17 years in federal prison and was scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
What happened in the gun possession case?
One of the cases involved three counts of gun possession. Prosecutors said Biden, 54, lied about his drug use on a federal form when he bought a handgun.
The three gun charges all related to Biden’s purchase of a Colt Cobra Special revolver at a Delaware gun store in October 2018, which lasted about 11 days. The gun was later discovered in his truck and discarded by his then-girlfriend Hallie Biden – the widow of his brother Bo – in a bin outside a store.
Biden has been candid in the past about his “full-blown addiction” to cocaine during that time. In fact, he also mentions it in his memoirs.
Jurors also heard from his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, and a former girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, who described using the drug in luxury hotels around the country. A panel of 12 jurors found Biden guilty on all three counts after about three hours of deliberations.
Why Joe Biden changed his stance
Joe Biden argued that “from the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making process of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word, even as I watched my son suffer selective and unfair prosecution,” in a press release on which was released by the White House.
“The charges in these cases only came about after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me so I wouldn’t get re-elected,” Joe Biden argued.
“I believe in the judicial system, but (…) I also believe that crude political expediency influenced this process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” he added. “I hope the American people will understand why a father and a president came to this decision,” concluded the elder Biden.
Trump’s reaction
The news that US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden has led to a steady stream of criticism from Republican lawmakers. President-elect Donald Trump called the decision an “abuse and miscarriage of justice” in a post on Truth Social.
House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that confidence in the justice system has been “almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse.”
Kentucky Rep. James Comer argued that Joe Biden and his family “lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote to X that he was “shocked” by the pardon because Biden “said many, many times he wouldn’t do it and I believed him,” adding, “Shame on me.”
Georgia spokeswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene called the president “a liar and a hypocrite, through and through.” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso said the amnesty “proves to the American people that there is a two-speed justice system.”
The Democrats are also reacting
Arizona Democratic Representative Greg Stanton said: “Greg Stanton is the Arizona Democratic Representative: “I respect President Biden, but I think he was wrong on this issue. This was not a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis wrote to X that “while as a father I certainly understand the president’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family above the country”.
“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by future Presidents and will unfortunately tarnish his reputation,” he said, adding: “No one is above the law.”
Ohio Democrat Greg Landsman said: “Mr. Landsman is not the only one who can do something like this: “As a father, I get it. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback.”
