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Tell us: President Biden pardoned his son. Do you agree?
President Joe Biden had long stated that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden. But that changed on Sunday.
President Joe Biden had long stated that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing this month for gun and tax violations. But on Sunday, the president reversed his stance and issued a sweeping pardon for his son.
The pardon not only covers Hunter Biden’s convictions in two federal cases – one in Delaware and another in California – but also extends to any potential “offenses against the United States” that he may have committed or been involved in between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the president has the power to grant clemency, which includes pardons and commutations. A pardon forgives federal criminal offenses entirely, while a commutation reduces the severity of a sentence but does not absolve the crime. However, this power is limited to federal offenses. A president cannot issue pardons for state crimes or for impeachment convictions.
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Hunter Biden’s legal troubles began with a conviction in June for making a false statement on a federal form when purchasing a firearm in 2018, asserting that he was not a drug user at the time. Later, he pleaded guilty to charges that he evaded over $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases occurred when he struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol, before becoming sober in 2019.
Hunter was set to be sentenced this month in California and Delaware by judges appointed by President Trump. The tax charges carried a maximum sentence of 17 years, while the gun charge could have led to up to 25 years in prison. However, federal sentencing guidelines suggested that any prison term would likely be much shorter, and Biden may have avoided jail time altogether.
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Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2020. Initially, he had struck a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses to avoid prosecution on the gun charge if he remained trouble-free for two years. However, that deal fell apart during the plea hearing. Hunter Biden was subsequently indicted in both cases, and he has argued that he was targeted due to his family connections.
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