Hunter Biden Pardoned
I will confess to not being surprised that President Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter. I figured that the temptation to help his son would outweigh his prior pledge, although I thought he might simply commute the sentence. I suspect that any parent in this situation would likely have done the same. I do believe that Hunter was treated differently by the system because he was the president’s son, even as I also acknowledge that he has benefitted from who his father is and has been.
I suspect, too, that it is difficult for Biden and his family to watch people like Charles Kushner receive a pardon for far more serious crimes and to also be rewarded with an ambassadorship to boot (to name just one example of the cavalcade of persons of questionable character being name to various executive positions).
However, I have profound concerns about the ramifications of this move. I fear it will deepen cynicism in the citizenry in ways that will make it all the harder to address growing corruption in Washinton because, well, “they all do it.” I fear it will embolden Trump and his allies. I fear that it is yet a bit more erosion under the foundation of our system. It feels like just more damage to the liberal order.
This is all incomplete commentary, but I wanted to get up at least a brief reaction given the importance of the news.
Biden’s statement and the text of the pardon can be found here.
Might it have something to do with the insane decision by Cannon to let the felon off? Hunter Biden’s lawyer, as I recall, claimed the special prosecutor in his case should also be considered unconstitutionally appointed. A pardon makes that legal claim moot, and therefore simplifies matter for the DOJ’s appeal on Cannon’s ruling.
This is a sincere question. Since “they all do it” is already accepted truth, how much more deepened can the cynicism become? Speaking for myself, my cynicism has maxed out. The re-election of a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and indicted insurrectionist has killed my faith in the liberal order.
If you have to live with grossly asymmetrical both-siderism, it seems naive to not get something out of it. Standing on principle is for saps in the Age of Trump.
Sometimes doing what’s necessary is not a good look. This is not a good look for Joe Biden, reversing a pledge he made adamantly. The problem is not the pardon, it’s the misguided pledge he made with the misguided belief the American people would reward him and his party for such niceties.
I don’t care whether cynicism is deepened. Trump is already emboldened to the max by the Supreme Court cynically providing him immunity for an attempted coup, culminating in Trump inciting the Jan. 6 terror attack on Congress. Voters then cynically rewarded MAGA’s criminality and thuggery by returning control of D.C. to Republicans, however narrowly.
Americans know Trump is a serial sex criminal. Americans heard Trump repeatedly pledge to pardon and release his Jan. 6 terrorists. We voted for him anyway. So I couldn’t care less about Hunter getting a pardon for falsifying a gun application.
Trump’s return shows most Americans do not care about preserving norms, standards, the rule of law, or even basic ethics and decency. That does not mean Democrats should follow them off that cliff. It does mean Dem governors and the next Dem president should be bold about breaking norms to help their base, and about slapping tacky branding on their accomplishments. Dems do great things whose full benefit take too long to notice.
Democrats can no longer be the weaker party in this assymetrical warfare whereby Trump and Republicans get to say and do whatever they want without consequence, but Democrats must adhere to standards for which they get little credit.
I’ll confess I sent a message to the White House last month urging the president to use whatever unilateral power he has left to arm Ukraine and as much student debt as possible. I also urged him to pardon Hunter. They might’ve received tens of thousands such messages.
I’m with you, a bit conflicted. But damn it’d be hard to ask Biden to make a stand on principle and leave his son exposed to Trump and Bondi.
It’s seems we’re already well past the point of self martyrdom (or son martyrdom) for setting an example, as a matter of principle or moral rectitude. In fact, the martyrdom of of Christ has been fairly lost on this self anointed “Christian” nation hell bent on an ethos of self interest.
Biden, try as he might, couldn’t save this nation. He may as well save his only remaining son.
I can’t see any reason for Biden not to do this. If Americans cared one whit’s worth about anything other than naked partisanship, the choice might be different. But we don’t, so Biden can do the nakedly partisan thing. It doesn’t matter.
I posted this on another site: I suspect the motivation for Biden’s decision lies in this bit of his official statement :
It’s received wisdom among Republicans that Biden’s DoJ shielded Hunter from prosecution for a laundry list of crimes from money laundering to perjury. I imagine Joe could see the rest of his life being rendered miserable watching his son face one trial after another, as jackals like Comer and Jordan and the Fox crew egged Patel on to bring new charges. The pardon is for his own benefit as much as Hunter’s, and I applaud it unreservedly.
“Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, was pardoned by Trump in 2020 following a 2005 conviction on federal charges.” That would be his son-in-law’s father, now nominated to be Ambassador to France. [cough, France rejecting a pardoned felon, would be interesting]
I’m not a Biden fan (cough, where’s Waldo lately – coverup). but the rabid dog attacks for political advantage need to stop (I’ve seen the uncensored Hunter honey trap photos, noted, sleaze, but the prosecution is political – hope he exits stage left with his over priced “art.”)
I welcome President Vance, LOL, 25thAmendment.
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I have zero reservations on this.
There is no doubt that Hunter Biden is being targeted because of who his father is, and it is now a “known fact” on the right that the Biden Crime Family has done whatever the outrage du jour is and that whatever it is, it must be a felony.
The only reason this is a bad look for Joe Biden is that he is unlikely to have a news conference where he tells the nation that the Republican/Maga/QAnon folks can fuck off with that shit. If he does have a news conference, it will be bland and about guardrails or something. Not even a “when I read that Donald Trump will be appointing his daughters father-in-law as ambassador to France, after pardoning him for sex crimes, attempted blackmail, etc., I said fuck it, I’m pardoning my kid.”
Democrats don’t fight. As losing Presidential candidate Kamala Harris says, “when we fight, we win.”
And Hunter is such a colossal fuck up that I really think he should just get out of the country for a few years, as I have no doubt that when the Republican Department of Vengeance and/or Justice gets rolling, Hunter will be on that enemies list. And that Hunter will film himself snorting cocaine off the ass of a hooker or file his taxes wrong or something.
@Ken_L:
I think it’s no coincidence this pardon came the day after Trump announced Patel as the FBI Director.
Obviously not OK if, let’s say, Romney were the incoming POTUS.
But with Trump and his lawless cronies? I would pardon the fuck out of Hunter Biden.
And I would throw in pre-emptive pardons for Jack Smith and his staff, too (among other people).
I’m just saying it’s not Biden who made a joke out of the rule of law.
Could Biden pardon all people who have entered the country illegally, for entering the country illegally?
Mass pardons have a precedent. Carter pardoned draft dodgers.
I am 100% okay with this.
Republicans have sat on their hands and kept their mouths shut with every norm Trump has broken, and this utter garbage with Kushner is kind of the final straw. The allegations against Hunter were all for things that are almost never prosecuted; it is clear they went after him because of who his father is–and as noted above, it wouldn’t have stopped.
@Scott F.:
I can not say it better.
And I hope Biden fills all judicial vacancies with appointments of judges that are 40 years old. Also, there surely must be other executive actions he can take that will in some manner make it more difficult for Republicans to undertake their ‘major remodel’ of our Federal government.
Politicians and journalists who recite tropes about norms while shrugging at violations are what make me cynical. They remind me of the characters in Lord Of The Rings who one by one, bend and acquiesce to the rising evil and always have some sort of mumbled justification.
A father using his power to protect his son from being tortured endlessly by evil ghouls? Yeah, that restores my faith in people.
@Kathy:
Intriguing idea. Biden is too much of a traditionalist to flaunt norms to any extreme degree. Which is why we ended up with Merrick Garland (sigh). But maybe blanket pardon for all in his administration who were involved in DOJ investigations of Trump?
@DK:
“Americans know Trump is a serial sex criminal. Americans heard Trump repeatedly pledge to pardon and release his Jan. 6 terrorists.”
Americans also heard Trump repeatedly pledge to prosecute his political opponents, and sought to appoint people who have pledged to do so both for Attorney General and FBI Director.
In other words, complaining about pardoning Hunter after saying that he would be prosecuted solely for political reasons is similar to Lincoln’s line about killing one’s parents and asking for sympathy as an orphan.
@Kathy: Could Biden pardon all people who have entered the country illegally, for entering the country illegally? Mass pardons have a precedent. Carter pardoned draft dodgers.
That is not a good idea. You can’t make a sweeping comparison between the two categories. I know you’re upset about the election – so am I – but let’s try to keep some perspective here. There are different categories of “illegal” we’re dealing with. Going to the wall for birthright citizenship which is in the Constitution is one thing Dems should be doing.
If this was Trump pardoning Don Junior, no journalist, and certainly no Republican office holder, would even bat an eye, much less howl about the effect the move would have on the rule of law. “When they go low….” they get away with it. The so-called liberal media clutches its pearls and happily airs GOP hypocritical complaints in instances like this, but refuses to mention, much less look into, the apparent mental illness(es) of Trump and Musk.
In general, I think more politicians and their friends and family need to go to jail. I think that there should probably be some kind fo review process when pardons involve family, friends, business associates. However, none of that is happening. Biden doing the right thing and not pardoning Hunter wont change behaviors by Trump or the right in general. James makes the point that it will justify people on the right claiming that everyone does it but they already believe that. Finally, it should be noted as many others have that he didnt pardon him and then give him a cushy govt job.
Steve
People need to grasp that we, that is, normal people who support the Constitution, have no power to change the behavior of MAGAs.
Nothing we do or don’t do will cause them to behave differently.
@al Ameda: I agree and I would do something else. I would appoint Jack Smith to a vacant federal judgeship and tell Schumer, “Get this done or don’t plan on taking any time off during the holidays.”
Hunter Biden is fortunate to be alive. He was just as sloppy with his paperwork as Clarence Thomas, but I guess we hold you to a higher standard if your life was about smoking crack and sleeping with escorts rather than being on the Supreme Court. He left the evidence for everything he did on his laptop. The Republicans are genuinely too dumb to understand that he didn’t commit any financial crimes, otherwise they would have the receipts. There’s also the fact that everyone after him is slightly envious.
You can’t blame Biden for pardoning him, just to spare him four years of creepy guys mouthbreathing through whether or not he registered as a lobbyist.
@Scott F.:
This reminds me so much of the realization that President Bartlet(t)’s team had when prepping for his debate with Gov. Ritchie in The West Wing.
Steve: “However, I have profound concerns about the ramifications of this move. I fear it will deepen cynicism in the citizenry in ways that will make it all the harder to address growing corruption in Washinton because, well, “they all do it.” I fear it will embolden Trump and his allies. I fear that it is yet a bit more erosion under the foundation of our system. It feels like just more damage to the liberal order.”
Steve, this is more of a James opinion; you are usually faster on the uptake. Trump, MAGA, the GOP and there enablers in the MSM do not need excuses. They will make them up as needed.
In addition, it’s clear that they consider Hunter to be a special target, to torture their enemy’s son, Game of Thrones style.
“When MAGA cultists complain about a “weaponized justice system,” remind them that President Biden has refused to show favoritism towards his son because he has a commitment to the rule of law and our judicial system, regardless of who is involved.”
The Lincoln Project – June 2024
Here’s a bottle of Advil for the Tuesday pain that will follow the bizarre contortions I’m reading today……….you would do better to just look down, shuffle your feet and admit that as long as politics is just us vs them politicians are going to ply that to their advantage. Its not new, and the voters are ultimately to blame. I’d stop pointing fingers at the other guy and look in the mirror.
@SC_Birdflyte:
Absolutely. I can think of no downside to such a move.
BTW, there’s no need to hypothesize what the reaction would be if el felon pardoned someone manifestly guilty. He has already done so, namely Roger Stone and former trump brain Steve Banon.
@SC_Birdflyte: Unlike presidents (at least Republican presidents since July 1 this year) judges aren’t immune from prosecution. It’d be a nice poke in the eye, but it wouldn’t help Smith, who may be a bigger target than Hunter.
@Jack:
Both of which are about to be destroyed by your orange idol – as evidenced by the people he nominated for AG and FBI Director.
We know it, you know it. You only pretend otherwise because you want to own the libs.
Playing dumb doesn’t fool anybody.
@gVOR10: You’re correct, but Smith would not be an easy target for prosecution. A trial could blow up in the faces of the prosecutors.
@Scott F.: Yes, sadly so. This situation is what America knowingly voted for and approved of. They could’ve punished the corruption but they didn’t so here we are.
@Jack:
Then pointing fingers it is.
The right thing to do is the opposite of whatever Trumpers suggest. No one needs guidance from rapists, incels, fascists, Putin slaves, drug addicts, and Matt Gaetz fanboys.
So you are going to overlook another uncounted lie (32,000+ for Trump) by Joe Biden and his noble commitment to the rule of law and our judicial system.
@Paul L.:
Whatever that means. Entertain the possibility that you’re not as witty or insightful as you think you are.
@drj:
You are incoherent.
@DK:
The election is over. The electorate spoke. Time for some self reflection. If you are able
@Paul L.: Good insight. Good wit.
On a lighter note. 2 of my 6 favorite guitarists.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKsg3NIIgQ
@Richard Gardner:
Biden displays AIDS Memorial Quilt at White House to observe World AIDS Day (AP)
3 Americans detained in China are released in prisoner swap and are back in U.S. (NBC)
This what Waldo is up to, fyi. A little media coverage would be nice, but Trump’s cabinet of underqualified, DEI-for-MAGA druggies, weirdos, and sex criminals is sucking up all the air.
@Jack: After the election was over in 2020 and Trump lost by 8 million votes and 4.5%, you and rapist Trump engaged in zero self-reflection. Instead, your MAGA cult screamed “Stop the Steal!”, harrassed and defamed election workers, pushed dozens of failed lawsuits and failed audits, passed voter suppression laws, and launched the fascist Jan. 6 terror attack on Congress.
This childish, violent sore losering contributed to Republicans’ underwhelming 2022 midterm result.
So in the run-up to the 2026 midterms — potentially a referendum on whether mass deportation, Putin apologetics, and a cabinet of druggies and rapists were able to lower the cost of eggs — Democrats will not be taking advice from Trumpers. If y’all had parlayed the global anti-incumbent mood into a landslide, maybe. But Trump’s sub-50 1.6% White House win + Republicans losing a House seat + Pedo Gaetz’s implosion…this does not inspire imitation. We will be aiming higher.
Time stop being a dishonest, pompous, phony hypocrite. If you are able.
@Jack:
Yes, the 49.83% of the electorate spoke.
They said: ‘please give us give us more tariffs, more Matt Gaetz, more RFK Jr, more Tulsi Gabbard, more Peter Hegseth, more Kash Patel, more Russell Vought, more Charles Kushner (to be fair he is a disgraced slumlord and Ivanka’s father-in-law).’ That resounding less than a majority said: ‘give us more chaos, it won’t affect us, only the undeserving 50.17% who didn’t vote for Trump.’
@al Ameda:
The election is over and the people have spoken.
And for the 5th consecutive time, a majority of the American people rejected the Republican message.
It’s time for the Republicans to step back and do some soul searching.
Trump should appoint some Democrats to his cabinet and reach across the aisle in a spirit of bipartisan compromise and unity.
@al Ameda: Oh please. If 50.17% voted against Trump, an even greater majority voted against Kamala because she didn’t even win the plurality. Your innumeracy makes you seem desperate. A majority rejected sanity. That’s not on you or Democrats or Kamala. It’s on them.
I’m guessing not too many people will want to read this, but I agree with it-
In honor of the Saturday night massacre, call Biden’s pardon of his son Sunday night stupidity.
Matt Ford at The New Republic writes an article titled- The Hunter Biden Pardon Is Joe Biden’s Ultimate Failure
After years of touting the need to preserve democracy and the rule of law, the outgoing president concludes his reign in the most cynical way imaginable. –
Such a wonderful President. NOT! Failed Presidency is it.
I keep saying it. It will apparently fall on deaf ears.
Stomping of feet and holding breath until blue may make some of you feel better. But you got creamed. And it applies to the appointments as well. Its just whining. Time will tell on them. Meanwhile, enjoy your Tums.
But I guess you haven’t learned a thing. There are other opinions than yours. Your attitudes are fine in an echo chamber, but will not serve well in elections.
Anyone up for some Stevie Ray Vaughn or Duane Allman?
@Bill Jempty:
@Bill Jempty:
What would you have said if Biden had won the election, and then commuted his son’s sentence?
@Jack: If this year’s election totals show that the Democrats “got creamed,” then Trump “got creamed” in 2020. As a refresher, the percentages from 2020 were Biden, 51.3%, Trump, 46.8%.
The lesson there is: writing a candidate, or a party, off is folly. When I worked in politics we always said the only election that matters is the next one. What that meant is that you can’t win and expect to accomplish anything if you are out of power within two years because you’ve lost a majority, or lost the ability to advance your agenda, because you’ve decided to expend your political capital on stupid stuff (like, say, fights over ridiculous nominees).
Republicans would do well to remember that.
@Kathy:
Biden wasn’t going to win in November. The question is pointless.
@Jack:
Repeating this fatuous bullshit again and again makes it no less fatuous, and no less bullshit. I know your moral and intellectual forbears were major promoters of “tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,” but that’s not working with “you got creamed” because the election was less than a month ago and we can all see the numbers. A 1.5% margin that doesn’t even reach 50% of the votes is not “getting creamed,” and the only reason that illusion is even possible is because of America’s stupid, outdated way of electing a President.
Trump is trying to claim a mandate it’s obvious he doesn’t have, and showing up here to try to help out only makes you look like a lame liar.
@Jen:
I agree with you. But as you read the threads here, or elsewhere, what gives you hope that denial isn’t absolute? I see nothing but petulance.
I wrote Biden a letter in June, saying that come what may, he should pardon Hunter. This isn’t some late conversion on my part, or I’m guessing most people’s who have no problem with its part. Would it have been better if he didn’t pardon Hunter? Yes, in some grand ethical sense. But the man’s given a massive amount to this country; does he need to give another son?
I’d have a lot more patience for the pearl clutching by a lot of people, including some I usually agree with, if Trump wasn’t getting a complete pass for far, far worse that is far, far more ill-intentioned. RFKJr is going to shake up HHS. Patel is going to be the bracing change the FBI needs. But Biden’s pardoning of his son is a stain from which his legacy will never recover. Bullshit. Trump is nominating people who have committed far worse crimes than Hunter to his cabinet. How many of them will be confirmed?
@Jack:
I unapologetically disagree with opinions of those supporting “leadership” like nominating pedo Matt Gaetz for attorney general — just like I disagree with the opinions of Nazis and Hamas.
@Jack:
Because you’re looking in the mirror? We see your angry hypocrisy. Again, you Trumpers responded to a much, much bigger loss in 2020 with tantrums, violence, harassment, audits, lawsuits, and the Jan 6. terror attack.
By contrast, the muted Dem response to 2024 — including witty takedowns of Trump’s cabal of druggies and rapists — is indicative of the precarious nature of Republicans’ control. Trump has little room for error in the run up to 2026.
That fear is behind your exaggeration of the result. You need denial because, as others note, you have no affirmative defense of Trump’s picks. You’re reduced to robotically repeating petulant attacks on commentary here, lacking a rational counter to valid critiques.
You and Trump wanted the whole country’s obedient submission, and you’re still as bitter and mad as you were before Nov. 5 because you did not and will not get it. Now, if Republicans do as well in 2026 and 2028 as Dems did in 2018, 2020, and 2022, you will find us appropriately chastened. But 1.6% + 52 senate seats + losing a seat in the House won’t get Dems to bow down and start over, sorry.
Hunter has been a big pain in the ass for Joe for a decade now. If we wanna be honest,we have to admit that the laptop story was buried by the mainstream media as a Russian Intel op, when in fact the crazy story about the laptop ending up in some Manhattan pawn shop was true.
The story was killed. Please don’t deny it. Also, the DOJ did Hunter a favor by delaying the investigation which allowed many accusations to fall by the wayside due to statute of limitations taking effect. This was particularly true regarding some of his tax issues.
Sorry, I think many comments here are of the “lets own the Trumpnuts” by sticking it to them with this pardon. We hate it when the MAGA crowd supports something outrageous just to “own the libs”
Hunter is a deeply flawed, troubled man. This pardon almost proves MAGA’ vacuous claims that there is a cover up by Joe of his kid’s crimes. Before, there was a smoking gun. Now joe has given them proof in their minds, that the conspiracy theories were correct.
This pardon would be more supportable if Joe hadn’t said on numerous occasions (backed up by white house spokespeople) that he would never pardon Hunter and would let the law and justice system take it’s course.
@The Q:
What cover up?
He was investigated, charged, convicted of the gun charge, plead guilty to the tax charges. All out in the open, with court transcripts and all.
So, OTB does have a tendency to conserve the number of articulate trolls. It appears the number can’t be less than 1 for as long as a presidential term, but seems limited to two at a time.
@The Q:
Nope. There was no “story” to kill. Sex and drug videos on a private citizen’s laptop was not something Americans cared much about. This so-called “news” has been all over media, especially social media, since the day it dropped. “Killed” here means “got no traction with the public because it was and is irrelevant.”
Second of all, there was no killing. Some outlets waited all of 24 to 48 hours to verify the sourcing before pretending it was newsworthy. By the time Election Day 2020 rolled anyone who cared to know about it knew about it, and it had a 0% effect on anything. Because the salacious content of Joe Biden’s son’s laptop holds about as much political relevance as a D-list celebrity’s sex tape.
We already have one party acting like WWE / Real Pedos of Mar-A-Lago reality TV freaks. We don’t need another; Democrats will remain focused on real issues like healthcare and housing — not on policing bathrooms and pretending Hunter Biden’s dick pics are important. In 2-6 years, Americans will tire of the incompetent rightwing clown car and come running to the adults for sanity. Just like every time before (2022, 2020, 2018, 2012, 2008, 2006 etc etc).
@Bill Jempty: I’m fine with the statement itself and with you agreeing with it. I think that it’s a profound example of securing the gate to the corral after the horse has jumped the fence, but if we ever decide to turn away from the excesses of the moment, you and your source will be all set. I’m not holding my breath.
@The Q: Words cannot describe how little I care about Hunter Biden getting pardoned by his dad given that the whole concept of Presidential pardons is hopelessly political and compromised.