President Biden’s hypocrisy on full display: Pardons his own son after making a point about ‘independent’ justice"

In a move that’s being hailed as a “full and unconditional” pardon, President Joe Biden has announced that he’s granting his son Hunter Biden a free pass for all federal charges related to his time between 2014-2024. Just 50 days before leaving office, Biden had previously declared that he wouldn’t be making the move, stating he’d abide by the jury’s decision. But now, it seems he was just playing a different tune.

TL;DR

President Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who was facing up to 25 years in prison for lying on a federal form about his drug addiction. This comes after months of saying he wouldn’t make the move, and is being met with criticism from politicians and others who called him out on his earlier stance. A case of “my family is more important than I am” - how about keeping your promises for once?

  • banshee@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    34
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    1 day ago

    I read over Biden’s statement, and it makes sense to me. Hunter was singled out for political purposes. It would seem weird if Biden didn’t issue the pardon.

    • LordGimp@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      21
      ·
      21 hours ago

      False. Hunter was charged and convicted of criminal acts that are generally unenforced for the rich and powerful. The fact that they are generally unenforced does nothing to offset the fact that his actions were ultimately criminal.

      Not being given a “get out of jail free” card when all your friends got one for doing the same thing =/= being singled out for your political affiliation.

      • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        17
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        19 hours ago

        Selective enforcement is one of the justifications for jury nullification, so it seems that it should apply for pardons too.

        It took them 8 years to find something with Hunter to be charged with. It was maybe the biggest political witch hunt ever. If you conduct a witch hunt, you’re going to find “witches”. Is this really what conservatives are scratching at? Because I would love for them to look at the last 5 year of dispensary ID logs and compare them to FID forms.

        • LordGimp@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          14
          ·
          19 hours ago

          Again, not being extended a courtesy because you are rich and expect that courtesy to be extended is not the same thing as being the subject of a witch hunt. In EXACTLY the same way a lotto winner might have their old tax records reviewed, people in any kind of spotlight are going to be under increased scrutiny. People like Hunter have access to every resource imaginable to help them stay current on their taxes and avoid violating the law. Problem with people like hunter is that they expect to be treated with kid gloves so they take shortcuts. $1.3 million in back taxes isn’t a “whoopsie” most people get away with, and they shouldn’t. All Joe is showing America here is that the Biden’s are rich people first and American citizens second.

      • gmtom@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        19 hours ago

        Found Ben Shapiro’ lemmy account.

        But seriously this isn’t a rich and powerful thing. Practically no one, from any background is given felony charges over what Hunter did.