Biden pardons his son, draws bipartisan criticism

Outgoing President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden over federal tax and gun crimes, for which he was supposed to be sentenced this month.

The pardon covers offenses he “has committed or may have committed or taken part in” between 1 January 2014 and 1 December 2024. This includes the period when he joined the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Biden had repeatedly denied that he’d pardon his son before claiming Sunday that the charges were politically motivated.

“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said.

President’s decision drew anger from both sides of the political spectrum. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) took to X (Twitter) to state that “Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities.” He added: “Not only has he falsely claimed that he never met with his son’s foreign business associates and that his son did nothing wrong, but he also lied when he said he would not pardon Hunter Biden.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) wrote that while he respects President Biden, he believes that he “got this one wrong.”

“This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers,” he added.

Hunter Biden’s long-standing connections with Ukraine have been a source of major contention among the Republicans who believe that the outgoing President personally benefitted from his son’s opaque business deals. While no meaningful evidence was produced to substantiate the claim, it has greatly impacted the GOP’s perception of Ukraine and Ukraine-related affairs.

Burisma ceased to exist in 2023.