Washington — President Biden announced late Sunday that he had signed a pardon for his son Hunter Biden, a major twist in his final weeks in office.
Biden has repeatedly pledged not to forgive his son. He was convicted of three felonies in June. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to buying a revolver while battling an addiction to illegal drugs and lying on paper to get the gun. 9 counts of tax evasion In separate cases, September.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. I promised from the day I took office that I would not interfere with the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I have kept that promise even as I watched my son act selectively and unfairly.” Indicted,” Biden said in a statement Sunday night.
“Hunter was treated differently than others under similar circumstances,” the president said, claiming the charges were brought “after some of my political opponents in Congress attacked me and incited them to oppose my election.”
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s case could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was selected simply because he is my son, and that is wrong,” Biden said.
The “full and unconditional pardon” applies to all crimes Hunter Biden committed between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.
Biden did not mention the pardon to reporters before boarding Air Force One for his mission. Angola travel.
Hunter Biden was investigated and indicted by Special Prosecutor David Weiss, U.S. Attorney for Delaware, appointed by Trump. He was retained by the Biden administration in 2021, but other Trump-era prosecutors have been asked to resign to continue the investigation. Hunter’s actions. Attorney General Merrick Garland later elevated Weiss to special prosecutor status. whistleblower And Republican lawmakers have alleged there were irregularities in the investigation.
Weiss’ office declined to comment on the pardon.
“It is a sad day for law-abiding taxpayers to witness this extraordinary privilege for Mr. Biden,” IRS whistleblowers Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley said in a statement expressing concern about the Justice Department’s efforts to protect Hunter Biden. forcible.”
Before giving up his presidential bid, Mr. Biden promised that he would not forgive his son. proverb In an interview with ABC News in June, he said he ruled it out. After selecting leave for racing The following month, the White House insisted that Biden had no plans to pardon his son, but the potential political fallout from that decision was diminished.
White House said Until last month, the president still had no plans to pardon his son.
“I acknowledge and take responsibility for the mistakes I made during the darkest days of my addiction. These mistakes were used to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family as a political sport. Despite all this, “I have maintained sobriety for more than five years,” Hunter Biden said in a statement Sunday night, “thanks to my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.”
“I will never take for granted the pardon granted today,” the president’s son said. “I will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still hurting and suffering.”
Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 on the gun charges and on Dec. 16 on the tax evasion charges.
After the White House announced the pardon, Hunter Biden’s legal team notified the federal judges overseeing his case in Delaware and California about the pardon, which would result in the case being formally dismissed and a sentencing hearing scheduled for later this month canceled. I made it possible.
Hunter Biden is Charged with three felony gun charges. After a proposed plea deal with federal prosecutors in September that would have him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion program in exchange for pleading guilty to a count of felonious possession of a firearm. collapsed.
At a court hearing where the conviction is expected to be upheld, the judge overseeing the case raised concerns about the terms, and Hunter Biden’s legal team sparred with prosecutors over whether the agreement was intended to protect the president’s son from future criminal charges. I protested.
Hunter Biden was accused of lying on documents and illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while addicted to crack cocaine. Federal law prohibits people who use illegal drugs from owning firearms.
Prosecutors say the president’s son lied about his drug use on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives forms when he purchased a revolver and several other items from a Wilmington, Delaware, gun store on Oct. 12, 2018.
In the case of California, a federal grand jury in a separate case last December Hunter Biden Indicted It consists of three felonies and six misdemeanors. The president’s son was accused of living an “excessive lifestyle” and failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes.
According to the indictment, Hunter Biden earned approximately $7 million from foreign business transactions between 2016 and 2019. He was accused of spending nearly $5 million on “everything but taxes” during the same period, including drugs, escorts and security. Luxury hotels, cars and clothing. Hunter Biden was accused of misrepresenting the purchase amount as a business expense.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges on September 5 after a failed attempt at an Alford appeal, in which the defendant accepted a guilty plea while maintaining his innocence.
“Without aggravating factors such as use in the commission of a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a weapon as a straw buyer, people are rarely brought to trial on felony charges based solely on how they filled out their firearm forms,” Biden said Sunday night. “Non-criminal solutions are typically available to people who pay their taxes late due to a serious addiction and then repay them later with interest and penalties. It’s clear Hunter was treated differently.”
Hunter Biden is the 26th person to receive a pardon during President Biden’s term. Most of the rest were pardoned for drug crimes. President-elect Trump had pardoned 29 times during his first term, but pardoned a total of 143 times until he left office in 2020.
This is not the first time a president has pardoned a family member. President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton before leaving office. During his first term, Trump pardoned his son-in-law, Charles Kushner. Trump said he plans to do so. nominate Kushner On Saturdays, he serves as the U.S. ambassador to France.
On social media, Trump called Biden’s pardon “an abuse and miscarriage of justice.”
The two federal lawsuits against Hunter Biden come against the backdrop of a Republican-led congressional investigation into his business dealings and whether they implicated Mr. Biden. The president claimed he had nothing to do with his son’s business, and the investigative committee failed to produce any evidence that the president engaged in illegal activity.
NBC News first reported that President Biden plans to pardon his son.
Robert Legare and Arden Farhi contributed to this report.
