By The clock was ticking.
Hunter Biden’s legal team submitted a 52-page document alleging that his tax and gun convictions were politically motivated in hopes of escaping punishment for his misdeeds, as sentencing approaches in courts in California and Delaware. The document, titled “The Political Prosecutions of Hunter Biden,” raises concerns that former President Donald Trump could use the justice system to target President Joe Biden’s son. Advocating for clemency, the report expresses fears of a politically charged judiciary under a potential new administration, writes The Washington Post.
The document at times seems aimed directly at President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly said that he will not pardon or commute the sentences of his son. Hunter has been with his father over the past several days in Nantucket, where the Biden family for decades has gathered for Thanksgiving.
“With the election now decided, the threat against Hunter is real,” the report asserts. It cites comments that Trump has made about targeting his opponents, along with remarks from congressional Republicans who for years have investigated Hunter and other Biden family members.
“There is no disputing that Trump has said his enemies list includes Hunter,” the report says. “The prospect that Trump will turn his vengeance on the Special Counsel prosecutors if they fail to take a harder line against Hunter no doubt exerts considerable pressure on them not to let up on Hunter.”
Both cases against Hunter Biden, for gun and tax offenses, were brought by special counsel David Weiss, whose office was staffed by attorneys from the Justice Department. That department will now be overseen by Trump and his attorney general.
It worked. On Sunday night, Joe Biden, after saying he’d never pardon his son, pardoned his son. The Washington Post writes that “President Joe Biden on Sunday issued a full and unconditional pardon for his son Hunter, a controversial decision that reverses his long-standing pledge to not use his presidential powers to protect his only surviving son, who was found guilty of gun-related charges in Delaware and pleaded guilty to tax evasion in California.
Using his executive authority in the waning days of his presidency, Biden lifted the legal cloud that has hung over his son for several years. While the president had pledged several times not to pardon or commute Hunter Biden’s sentences for federal crimes, many close to him had expected the pardon would come, given the president’s loyalty to his family. The move also comes at a time when Biden will face few political ramifications, given that he is a lame duck and voters have already rendered their verdict on his administration by sending Donald Trump back to office.
In a lengthy statement on Sunday night, released just as he was preparing to depart for Africa that evening, the president said that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” He said that he did not interfere with the cases but insisted that they were brought about because of political pressure on federal prosecutors.”
Biden said he came to the decision over the weekend, which coincided with the family being together in Nantucket, Massachusetts, for Thanksgiving.”
At 53 years old, Hunter Biden has been embroiled in significant legal battles. In June, he was convicted of three federal charges related to lying about drug use on a firearm purchase form and unlawfully possessing the weapon. In September, he pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges, which carry a combined potential sentence of up to 17 years in prison and $1.3 million in fines. His defense team emphasizes that he resolved his tax obligations by 2021, paying over $1.4 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties.
Special Counsel David Weiss, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has spearheaded the investigation. However, Hunter Biden’s attorneys question Weiss’s impartiality, arguing that the probe has been influenced by political pressures. The report underscores this claim by noting, “There is no disputing that Trump has said his enemies list includes Hunter.”
The pardon is a blanket forgiveness that covers ten years of crimes, clearly covering up potential misdeeds by Joe Biden himself while he served as vice president.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that he will not pardon his son during his presidency, though some have speculated he could commute his sentence.
Trump, on the other hand, has taken a more unpredictable stance, according to The Washington Examiner. Although he has harshly criticized Hunter Biden over controversies like the laptop scandal, Trump recently hinted that a pardon could serve as a gesture of national unity. “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump said earlier this year. However, he later softened his tone, describing Hunter Biden as a “bad boy” but leaving the door open for clemency.
The stance serves as a major example of how Trump’s victory could end legal lawfare against political opponents. Had Kamala won, she likely would have gone after Republicans, according to reports.
The case has become a focal point in the broader political landscape, intensifying debates over the impartiality of the justice system. Critics accuse the Department of Justice of applying a double standard in politically sensitive cases. The controversy has revived Republican efforts to scrutinize the Biden family’s business dealings, including allegations from the 2020 laptop scandal. Initially dismissed as disinformation, these claims have since been authenticated in official filings, with Republicans arguing that the laptop’s contents reveal corruption involving the Biden family and showing how mainstream media outlets worked to cover it up to swing the 2020 election.
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