WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, reversing his earlier pledge to leave the legal proceedings entirely up to the judicial system.
Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges and faced upcoming sentencing.
The Democratic president’s pardon comes as Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to go after his political opposition, prepares to take office Jan. 20:
DONALD TRUMP, Republican President-elect
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
MEGHAN HAYS, Democratic strategist and former senior communications aide to Biden
“With some of the nominations that Trump has put up, I think it probably caused a little bit of worry for him. But also I think people have to remember: the president lost two children already and he does not need to lose another one.”
“The president made a decision as a father to keep his son out of jail and out of harm’s way moving forward … I think that some of these nominations that Trump has been putting forward and leaving this in the hands of other folks is worrisome to the president… President(-elect) Trump and Kash Patel have said they are going to go after their political enemies, they’re going after retribution; I think that Hunter Biden has been seen as the person they’ve gone after many times, and I don’t think the president is going to leave that to chance when he leaves office.”
CHUCK GRASSLEY, Republican U.S. Senator from Iowa
“I’m shocked Pres Biden pardoned his son Hunter bc he said many many times he wouldn’t & I believed him Shame on me”
JARED POLIS, Democratic Governor of Colorado
“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation. Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
ERIC HOLDER, former U.S. Attorney General under Democratic President Barack Obama
“Here’s the reality. No USAtty would have charged this case given the underlying facts. After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been – fundamentally and more fairly – a declination. Pardon warranted. Ask yourself a vastly more important question. Do you really think Kash Patel is qualified to lead the world’s preeminent law enforcement investigative organization? Obvious answer: hell no.”
GREG STANTON, Democratic U.S. Representative from Arizona
“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
JAMES COMER, Republican chair of U.S. House Oversight Committee
“Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities. Not only has he falsely claimed that he never met with his son’s foreign business associates and that his son did nothing wrong, but he also lied when he said he would not pardon Hunter Biden. The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people. It’s unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability.”
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Heather Timmons and Andrew Heavens)
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