(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, the White House announced Sunday night.
Previously, Joe Biden had remained adamant that he would not pardon Hunter, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in September. He was also convicted in a separate criminal gun case in June.
In his clemency announcement, the president called his son’s treatment a “miscarriage of justice” and pointed to political motivation behind his son’s charges.
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“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden said in a statement.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” his statement continued. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced in December in both of the cases. The “full and unconditional pardon” will cover both his gun charges conviction and guilty plea.
President-elect Donald Trump cannot revoke an official act of clemency.
President Joe Biden hugs his son Hunter Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, about his decision to drop his Democratic reelection bid. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)
What was Hunter Biden found guilty of?
In June, a jury found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the gun application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally owning the gun for 11 days in 2018.
The prosecution stemmed from a seven-page form that would-be gun buyers must fill out when purchasing a weapon from a licensed gun business.
The form includes standard questions about things that would disqualify someone from legal gun ownership, like previous felony convictions, mental health problems or illegal drug use.
The jury in Wilmington, Delaware, deliberated for about three hours over two days.
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Hunter Biden’s tax charges
Hunter Biden entered a guilty plea in September in his federal tax case, avoiding a trial altogether.
The tax trial involved charging Hunter Biden with a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions from foreign business entities.
Hunter Biden had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his taxes from 2016 to 2019. His attorneys argued he didn’t act “willfully” or with intent to break the law, citing his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
NewsNation’s Nancy Loo, Courtney Han and Urja Sinha contributed to this report.
