ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden鈥檚 for federal crimes, with some calling the move misguided and unwise after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law.
The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges with a grant of clemency that covers more than a decade of any federal crimes his son might have committed. The said in a statement that his son鈥檚 prosecution on charges of tax evasion and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form were politically motivated.
鈥淗e believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,鈥� said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who along with Biden and other White House officials insisted for months that .
That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden鈥檚 reversal could make it harder to take on , who has argued that were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him.
鈥淭his is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,鈥� Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote of Biden on the social media platform X.
鈥淲hen you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation,鈥� the governor continued, a reference to the president invoking fatherhood in explaining his decision. 鈥淗unter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President鈥檚 son.鈥�
Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., said on X: 鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.鈥�
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said Biden 鈥減ut personal interest ahead of duty鈥� with a decision that 鈥渇urther erodes Americans鈥� faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.鈥� Michigan Sen. Gary Peters the pardon was 鈥渁n improper use of power鈥� that erodes faith in government and 鈥渆mboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.鈥�
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., called the pardon 鈥渦nderstandable鈥� if viewed only as the 鈥渁ction of a loving father.鈥� But Biden's status as 鈥渙ur nation's Chief Executive," the senator said, rendered the move 鈥渦nwise.鈥�
Certainly, the president has Democratic defenders who note Trump鈥檚 use of presidential power to pardon a slew of his convicted aides, associates and friends, several for activities tied to Trump鈥檚 campaign and first administration.
鈥淭rump pardoned Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, as well as his son-in-law鈥檚 father, Charles Kushner 鈥� who he just appointed US ambassador to France,鈥� wrote prominent Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper on X.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said there 鈥渋s no standard for Donald Trump, and the highest standard for Democrats and Joe Biden.鈥� Harrison pointed to Trump's apparent plans to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray and with loyalist Kash Patel and suggested the GOP's pursuit of Hunter Biden would not have ended without clemency.
鈥淢ost people will see that Joe Biden did what was right,鈥� Harrison said.
First lady Jill Biden said Monday from the White House, 鈥淥f course I support the pardon of my son.鈥�
Democrats already are facing the prospects of a Republican trifecta in Washington, with voters returning Trump to the White House and giving the GOP control of the House and Senate. Part of their argument against Trump and Republican leaders is expected to be that the president-elect is violating norms with his talk of taking retribution against his enemies.
Before beating Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump faced his own legal troubles, including two cases that stemmed from his efforts to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Those cases, including Trump鈥檚 sentencing after being convicted on New York state business fraud charges, have either been dismissed or indefinitely delayed since Trump鈥檚 victory on Nov. 5, forcing Democrats to to the president-elect.
President Biden firmly ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case: 鈥淚 abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.鈥�
As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump鈥檚 victory, Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying: 鈥淲e鈥檝e been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.鈥�
The president鈥檚 about-face came weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges. It capped a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 鈥� a month after his father鈥檚 2020 victory.
The sweeping pardon covers not just the gun and tax offenses against the younger Biden, but also any other 鈥渙ffenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024.鈥�
Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing , prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He had been set to stand trial in September in a California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.
In his statement Sunday, the president argued that such offenses typically are not prosecuted with the same vigor as was directed against Hunter Biden.
鈥淭he charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,鈥� Biden said in his statement. 鈥淣o reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter鈥檚 cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son. 鈥� I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.鈥�
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Associated Press journalists Will Weissert aboard Air Force One and Darlene Superville, Mary Claire Jalonick and Michael Tackett in Washington contributed to this report.
Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
