Joe Biden has reversed his promises not to use his power as president to pardon his son, Joe Biden, from his conviction for illegal possession of firearms, just a few days before he was due to appear in courts in Delaware and California to receive his sentence. It was expected that Hunter Biden's sentence would be several years in prison.
In the official statement announcing the pardon, the U.S. Head of State and Government declares that his son, who had pleaded guilty to lying on an official questionnaire when purchasing a firearm (in Delaware) and to evading taxes worth $1.4 million (in California), states that Hunter Biden "had been treated differently" by the U.S. Department of Justice because he is his son, and "that is wrong."
In the United States, the president has the right to pardon crimes at any time during his term, although he often leaves this task for the final weeks before leaving the White House. For example, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who had spent a year and a half in prison in 2005 and 2006 for fraud. On Saturday, Trump nominated Charles Kushner as ambassador to France. In the U.S., a presidential pardon implies the official disappearance of the crime, so the person no longer has a criminal record. Hence the importance of that decision. In Kushner's case, if he had not been pardoned, he could not have been eligible for the ambassadorial position.
He also pardoned his ideologue - and that of much of the European far-right - Steven Bannon, for fraud in the construction of the famous border wall with Mexico, and Kushner's friend Kenneth Kurson. In the last two months of his time in the White House, Trump pardoned over 70 people.
This Sunday, Trump, who has promised a drastic reform of the Department of Justice and to appoint people loyal to him, has stated in a social media post that the pardon of Hunter Biden was an "abuse and an injustice."
"Does Joe's pardon for Hunter include the January 6 hostages who have been imprisoned for years?" Trump asked, referring to those convicted for the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol carried out by his supporters.
Meanwhile, the newly pardoned Hunter Biden has stated in an email statement that he will never take for granted the clemency granted to him and has pledged to dedicate the life he has rebuilt "to helping those who are still sick and suffering."
"I have admitted and taken responsibility for the mistakes I made during the darkest days of my addiction, mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political purposes," Hunter Biden said.