President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter deepened an entanglement of politics and the rule of law that has tarnished faith in American justice and is almost certain to worsen in Donald Trump’s second term.
The Sunday evening move was a stunning development since Biden came to office vowing to restore the independence of the Justice Department, which had been eroded during Trump’s first term, and because he had repeatedly said he wouldn’t pardon his son.
Biden has now used his presidential authority to clear his son of two gun and tax charges that resulted via the due process of law, weeks before he departs the White House. The offenses are scheduled for sentence later this month.
It seems you’re referencing a hypothetical or speculative scenario involving major legal and political developments in the U.S., including actions by Special Counsel Jack Smith, legal cases involving Donald Trump, and the political dynamics surrounding Joe Biden and his son. Let me clarify:
- Jack Smith and Trump’s Cases: In reality, Special Counsel Jack Smith has been actively pursuing cases against former President Donald Trump, including those related to election interference and the handling of classified documents. The notion of dismissing such cases based on presidential immunity would be a dramatic legal turn, challenging existing norms and interpretations of accountability.
- Biden’s Non-Intervention Stance: President Joe Biden has consistently stated that he would not intervene in legal cases involving his son, Hunter Biden, or any other ongoing investigations, to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice. A shift in this position would mark a significant political and ethical controversy.
- Equal Justice Under Law: The principle that all individuals are equal before the law is fundamental to the U.S. justice system. If presidents or their families were perceived to be exempt from prosecution, it would raise profound concerns about fairness and accountability.
Let me know if you’d like more context or help dissecting these developments!
It seems you’re referencing a hypothetical or speculative scenario involving major legal and political developments in the U.S., including actions by Special Counsel Jack Smith, legal cases involving Donald Trump, and the political dynamics surrounding Joe Biden and his son. Let me clarify:
- Jack Smith and Trump’s Cases: In reality, Special Counsel Jack Smith has been actively pursuing cases against former President Donald Trump, including those related to election interference and the handling of classified documents. The notion of dismissing such cases based on presidential immunity would be a dramatic legal turn, challenging existing norms and interpretations of accountability.
- Biden’s Non-Intervention Stance: President Joe Biden has consistently stated that he would not intervene in legal cases involving his son, Hunter Biden, or any other ongoing investigations, to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice. A shift in this position would mark a significant political and ethical controversy.
- Equal Justice Under Law: The principle that all individuals are equal before the law is fundamental to the U.S. justice system. If presidents or their families were perceived to be exempt from prosecution, it would raise profound concerns about fairness and accountability.
Let me know if you’d like more context or help dissecting these developments!
Massive political reverberations
Politically, Biden’s reversal may be seen as a stain on his legacy and his credibility. It contributes to an ignominious end for a presidency that dissolved in his disastrous debate performance in June and that will now be remembered as much for opening the way for Trump’s return to the White House as evicting him four years ago.
The president may also have offered an opening for Trump’s party to rally behind Kash Patel, the loyalist whom the president-elect picked Saturday evening to lead the FBI and serve as an apparent agent of his campaign of political retribution.
There is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the president. An impeachment inquiry by House Republicans that looked at Biden’s and his son’s business relationships — which Democrats saw as an attempt to inflict political damage ahead of the election — went nowhere. And the cases against Hunter Biden lack the constitutional gravity or historic importance of the indictments against Trump and his frequent attacks on the rule of law.
But the political impact of Sunday night’s drama could be profound. Already, Republicans are arguing the Hunter Biden pardon shows that the current president, and not the next one, is most to blame for politicizing the system of justice by meting out favorable treatment to his son. Their claim may not be accurate, but it can still be politically effective.
Trump used pardons to protect multiple political aides and contacts during his first term, including his daughter’s father-in-law, who’s now his pick for ambassador to France. But any time in the future that Trump is criticized for his use of pardon power, he will be able to argue that Biden did the same to protect his own kin.
This could be especially significant as Trump comes under pressure from supporters in the coming months to pardon those convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, mob attack on the US Capitol — many of whom are still in jail.
Yet Biden, after a life of tragedies and heartache, asked Americans to judge him as a father who was clearly worried about the impact of a potential jail term on his son, a recovering addict.
