Biden pardons son despite repeatedly saying he wouldn’t
US President Joe Biden has backtracked on years of promises to not give a presidential pardon to his troubled son, Hunter, sparking widespread outrage on both sides of the aisle, as well as accusations of corruption, abuse of power, hypocrisy, refusal to follow the rule of law, an attempted cover up and more.
The pardon doesn't only cover Hunter Biden's jury convictions on charges of tax evasion and lying on a gun purchasing form.
The president has granted total immunity for any crime committed between 2024 back until 2014 when Hunter was controversially hired by Ukrainian energy giant Burisma at a salary of more than $1 million per year.
Many allege the job was proof of influence peddling and corruption, and many now allege that the unexpectedly long pardon seeks to defend Hunter and possibly Joe Biden himself from charges of money laundering and other financial crimes.
It's very disappointing to see my party lie and stuff like that. It kind of makes me feel like I have no choice for who to vote for, and it’s disappointing.
Member of Public 01
Compounding the surprise is that Biden defended his decision by accusing the Justice Ministry of being politicized against him and his family.
That's something Biden has endlessly criticized Donald Trump for saying, insisting that such claims undermine faith in the nation's legal system.
Most people thought Republicans and Democrats were hypocrites anyway, so like par for the course, you know, like (a) typical Tuesday for politicians.
Member of Public 02
Many warn that Biden has set a shocking pardon precedent which Trump can use and that he has sabotaged Democratic Party claims of owning the moral high ground and that disregard for an independent rule of law is now a feature of both mainstream parties and that American elites can easily manipulate the legal system as in an oligarchy.
I can definitely see it going that way in the public eye. Every President has done this kind of thing, but I feel like this is one where it's been sort of the most publicized and one of the biggest ones where, like, the whole Hunter Biden laptop thing has been a deal for the last half decade, or whatever, and it's just kind of like the crux of that.
Member of Public 03
In 2020, the official cover up of Hunter Biden's infamous laptop is often cited as a reason for Joe Biden's election victory.
The pardon is expected to reshape Biden's legacy, and to reverberate culturally and politically for years to come.
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