After a constant stream of refusing to deny a pardon for his son, President Joe Biden reversed course and issued a full-sweeping pardon that effectively ended any further prosecution for his son. This reversal has come after Hunter Biden was set to be prosecuted for two cases—for buying and owning a firearm illegally while addicted to substances and for failing to pay over 1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019— this pardon has drawn a variety of mixed reactions from the left and vehement criticism from the right. Biden’s pardon will have far-reaching implications for the precedent it sets for the incoming Trump administration and its ability to utilize the pardon.
Biden Refusals
President Biden issued a pardon that contradicted a multitude of statements he and the White House had made about the potential for a pardon. These times include as recently as November 8th, when White Press Secretary Karen-Jean Pierre ruled out the possibility of a pardon, stating, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is a no.” The President reiterated those claims in an interview with ABC News’s David Muir when he reiterated an emphatic “yes” when asked if he had ruled out the possibility of a pardon. In total, Biden has repeated more than seven times that he would
emphatically refused to pardon his son in a court of law, but Biden’s resolve would slowly melt as the events of the 2024 election unfolded.
Biden being forced out as the Democratic candidate in a publicly held brawl soured his allegiance towards the Democratic party and high-level officials like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama, and as his political support melted away, Biden relied on his family as he even brought Hunter Biden to advise him in the White House in the aftermath of the Presidential debate. And now, as the same high-ranking officials have placed the loss of the 2024 campaign on his feet, Biden’s tune changed as he shifts from Presidential life to family life, and to his family life, he has gained a greater degree of sympathy.
Hunter’s History
Hunter Biden has suffered through addiction for the majority of his life: as a college student at Georgetown, Biden acknowledged he abused cocaine. Through a myriad of other substances, Biden was also signed up to the US Naval Reserve and was sworn in before his father in a White House ceremony—he was discharged on the first day at the naval base, where he tested positive for cocaine use and was discharged. After the death of Beau Biden, he continued to fall deeper into alcohol and substance addiction to the point where he had no recollection of ever being the biological father to a daughter born to exotic dancer Lunden Alexis Roberts. Joe Biden was forced to acknowledge Navy Roberts, the then four-year-old child, as his seventh grandchild.
Through this period of turmoil, Biden divorced his wife, Kathleen Buhle, after he cheated on her with his brother Beau Biden’s wife, Hallie Olivere, and continued in a relationship with her for two years that got to the point where she was involved in the Biden gun case as she threw the colt revolver that Hunter Biden had purchased illegally after lying about it on federal forms.
Hunter’s personal dilemma was compounded by political investigations by Republicans that hurt the election chances of President Joe Biden. President Donald Trump’s first impeachment was related to his calls asking President Zelensky for dirt on Hunter Biden’s work with Ukrainian energy company Burisma, which was under investigation for corruption at the time he joined in 2014, a venture of which made Biden millions from. Then, former Vice-President Joe Biden pressured Hunter to leave Burisma as his 2019 campaign for the Democratic nomination began to heat up. These weren’t the final political ramifications; in October 2020, President Trump tried to claim that the “Hunter Biden laptop” held incriminating information about Biden’s involvement “illegal” involvement with foreign governments; while the laptop was real, the claims over its contents have not been proven.
Following the 2022 midterms, Republicans launched an investigation into Hunter Biden and his connection with Ukraine, but the investigation wound down, and the impeachment failed. Following Hunter Biden’s revelation that he was being investigated by the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick appointed Trump-appointed attorney David Weiss to pursue the Hunter Biden case. After pressing forward both the tax evasion and gun charges, Biden entered into a plea deal that ultimately fell through after Judge Maryellen Noreika ruled that the plea deal was not consistent.
The Pardon
President Biden’s pardon switch came as he held his annual traditional Thanksgiving tradition that he’s had at home in Wilmington, Delaware, since the death of his wife, Neilia Biden, in 1972. The Biden extended family would assemble and enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities in Wilmington, but this year, Biden was alone with his immediate family: a scene that resembled when he was holed up in Wilmington with COVID and his closest political advisors told him it was time to step down. During this time, Biden was able to have extended conversations with Hunter over the impending sentencing that he would face in December (for both the gun and tax case), and from those conversations and the months of sustained attacks he faced, Biden pardoned his son in this strongly charged message:
In the sea of political criticism from the left in the form of Governors like Jared Polis and Trump’s criticism, Biden now leaves with what will be one of the most consequential decisions of his Presidency, and posterity will now be the judge on Joe Biden’s legacy.
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