President Joe Biden has officially pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing this month on federal felony charges related to gun possession and taxes.
Hunter Biden had already pleaded guilty to tax charges in September and was convicted in June of being a drug user in possession of a firearm, making him the first child of a sitting president to face criminal convictions.
In a statement released on Sunday, President Biden addressed the decision, emphasizing his belief that his son had been unfairly targeted. He argued that the charges against Hunter were politically motivated, pointing to the fact that people in similar situations typically receive non-criminal resolutions. The president also criticized the collapse of a negotiated plea deal in court, which had been agreed upon by the Department of Justice but fell apart under political pressure from his opponents.
President Biden defended his decision to grant the pardon, claiming that the justice system had been infected by political influence and that Hunter had been singled out because of his connection to him. He spoke about his son’s recovery, noting that Hunter had been sober for five and a half years despite facing relentless attacks. The president emphasized that the attempts to “break” his son were also attempts to break him.
In a direct appeal to the American people, President Biden said: “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States of America
To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting:
Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto
A Full and Unconditional Pardon
For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto signed my name and caused the Pardon to be recorded with the Department of Justice.
Done at the City of Washington this 1st day of December in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth.
