U.S. President Joe Biden has granted clemency to his son Hunter, freeing him from the possibility of imprisonment for crimes related to firearms and taxes. This marks a departure from the President's previous commitments not to use his presidential powers for the benefit of family members.
The Democratic president had earlier stated that he would not pardon his son or reduce his punishment following verdicts in two cases in Delaware and California.
The clemency decision was announced just weeks before Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced for the firearms and tax charges, and less than two months before Donald Trump is set to take office as President of the United States.
This action concluded a prolonged legal saga for Biden Jr., who has been under federal investigation since 2020, casting a shadow over his father's presidential term.
Joe Biden, who repeatedly promised to restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump's first term, ultimately used his position to assist his son, breaking a public promise made to the American people that he would refrain from doing anything of the sort.
In June, Biden categorically ruled out the possibility of a pardon or leniency for his son, telling reporters when Hunter appeared in court for firearms charges in Delaware: "I will abide by the jury's decision. I will do that and will not pardon him."
Just on November 8, only days after Trump's election victory, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also dismissed the possibility of a pardon for Hunter Biden, stating: "We have been asked this question repeatedly. Our answer remains unchanged - no."
In a statement released on Sunday evening, Biden said: "Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," noting that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated and a "judicial error."
"The charges against him arose only after several of my political opponents in Congress provoked them to attack me and oppose my election," Biden said. "No reasonable person who has studied the facts of Hunter's case can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was treated this way solely because he is my son."
Judicial Verdicts
In June, Hunter Biden was found guilty by a federal court in Delaware of three crimes related to purchasing a firearm in 2018 when, according to prosecutors, he lied on a federal form by stating he did not use drugs and was not a drug addict.
In September, he was scheduled to appear in court in California for charges related to failing to pay taxes amounting to at least $1.4 million.
However, just hours after jury selection began, he unexpectedly agreed to plead guilty.
Biden Jr. stated that he would plead guilty in this case to spare his family from pain and embarrassment after salacious details about his crack cocaine addiction were revealed during the shooting case proceedings.
The tax evasion charges carry a potential sentence of up to 17 years in prison, while the firearms charges could lead to up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines suggest a much shorter term and the possibility of avoiding imprisonment altogether.
No reasonable person who has studied the facts of Hunter's case can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was treated this way solely because he is my sonJoe Biden President of the United States
The sweeping presidential pardon extends not only to these crimes but also to any other "crimes against the United States that he has committed, may have committed, or in which he participated from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024."
In his email statement, Hunter Biden said he would never take the relief granted to him for granted and vowed to dedicate his renewed life "to helping those who are still sick and suffering."
"I acknowledged and took responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction - mistakes that were used for public humiliation and shame of me and my family for political purposes," he said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described Biden Jr.'s pardon as "a caricature of democracy."