Will Biden Pardon Hunter

[Big RR]

Now that we're getting down to the last two months of this lame duck presidency, I will ask the above question again--will Biden pardon Hunter (and by "pardon" I will include commuting his sentence to a noncustodial one).

To answer it myself, I would say yes. Certainly Biden has denied that he would, but, as a father myself, I can understand why he might. Add to that the fact that his political career is pretty much over, there is even less reason not to do so. Certainly some parents might say that Hunter has to learn that actions have consequences, but Biden has made a career out of bailing out and helping Hunter again and again (one might call him an enabler), and I don't see this as different. Adding to this is the guilt that i believe Biden feels in his belief that the prosecution(s) are politically motivated. And while the pardon might be a headache for the democratic party, I imagine that he has far less concern about that after the way he was unceremoniously dumped by the party last summer.

Taking this all together, I think it is extremely likely he will pardon him before he leaves office. Yes, I do think Biden has a lot of integrity (for a politician), but I still think his family will win out. Other than breaking his pledge not to do so (and I am unsure if he ever said he wouldn't commute his sentence), he has very little to lose--and a last minute pardon of Hunter pales in comparison to the plethora of pardons outgoing presidents, republican and democrat, have given to supporters/friends/family. It would be relatively restrained business as usual.

ETA: This is hardly that important a topic discussion, but I find it much more worthwhile than considering who Trump is appointing to his cabinet; the man is an ass and I am not surprised by nearly anything he does, but Biden is a multifacted human being and is not as easily pigeonholed. And there's really nto that much he can do in the remaining time that could not easily be reversed by Trump as I doubt Congress will cooperate, and executive orders are easily overturned.

[Scooter]

The White House has said that neither a pardon nor a commutation will happen, but I don't think that Biden should be held to that. I may be hypocritical for saying so, as much as I rail that the rich and powerful should be subject to the same rule of law as the rest of us. But in this case, it has been clear from the outset that Hunter Biden's name has subjected him to harsher treatment than others in the same circumstances. The gun charges, in particular, would almost certainly have never been brought for the same reason against anyone else, absent the gun in question having been used in a crime. On the tax charges, no one would have been looking for prison time from someone who had paid all taxes owing prior to indictment. And both the prosecution and the court would have been more amenable to a plea deal that avoided prison time. So yes, Biden should at least commute any prison sentence to which Hunter could be subjected.

On the question of "will he", I think that, regardless of what has happened since he made that pledge, Biden is principled enough for its own sake that he might well keep to his word.

[Big RR]

Scooter--while I understand your point that being Joe Biden's son has gotten him treated more harshly, I am also aware that the connection has opened a lot of doors for him from acceptance at two prestigious schools (indeed, if i recall correctly, Bill Clinton called the dean of Yale Law to get him admitted) to getting a number of high paying jobs he was unqualified for (and often screwed up royally), so while part of me has some sympathy for him, another part says "karma's a bitch" and "don't come crying when your advantage turns to a disadvantage".

As for Je being principled enough to stay true to his word, we shall see. I am certain it's not an easy decision for him.

[Scooter]

Well, he did it.

Good for him.

Now he should preemptively pardon anyone the Rethuglicans might go after.

[liberty]

Scooter--while I understand your point that being Joe Biden's son has gotten him treated more harshly, I am also aware that the connection has opened a lot of doors for him from acceptance at two prestigious schools (indeed, if i recall correctly, Bill Clinton called the dean of Yale Law to get him admitted) to getting a number of high paying jobs he was unqualified for (and often screwed up royally), so while part of me has some sympathy for him, another part says "karma's a bitch" and "don't come crying when your advantage turns to a disadvantage".

As for Je being principled enough to stay true to his word, we shall see. I am certain it's not an easy decision for him.

I am shocked, shocked I tell you, shocked that politicians lie especially Democrats; the one that seems to lie the least is Donald Trump at least he tries to keep his political pledges. I would have done the same thing, but I wouldn't have pledged not to do so because I don't lie.

[Joe Guy]

......the one that seems to lie the least is Donald Trump...

[liberty]

......the one that seems to lie the least is Donald Trump...

What lies has he told are you talking about lies or exaggerations you know there is a difference.

[MajGenl.Meade]

What lies has he told? Are you talking about lies or exaggerations? You know, there is a difference. (Ed. Suggested punctuation added)

Joe Guy knows the difference. Most normal people know the difference. Trump does not. He is a stranger to the entire concept of truth as is anyone who believes Trump lies no more frequently than any other politician.

Here's the problem: As fact checker Glenn Kessler noted in August, whereas [Hillary] Clinton lies as much as the average politician, President Donald Trump's lying is "off the charts." No prominent politician in memory bests Trump for spouting spectacular, egregious, easily disproved lies. The birther claim. The vote fraud claim. The attendance at the inauguration claim. And on and on and on. Every fact checker – Kessler, Factcheck.org, Snopes.com, PolitiFact – finds a level of mendacity unequaled by any politician ever scrutinized. For instance, 70 percent of his campaign statements checked by PolitiFact were mostly false, totally false, or "pants on fire" false.

Here's the full article for you to read, though I am certain that no fact could change your ill-informed "opinion".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_ ... nald_Trump

[MajGenl.Meade]

It is unfortunate that President Biden has helped legitimized Trump's previous cynical use of the pardon and (even worse) Trump's pending double-down on more of the same. Egregious lies and self-seeking didn't begin with Trump and won't end with him either - but he and now Biden have certainly cheapened the process.

BBC, she say:

The president’s explanation might sound familiar to anyone who has listened to Donald Trump rail against America’s system of justice in recent years.

Trump, as he exited the White House in 2021, issued a series of pardons for his close associates and allies who had been swept up in the multiple criminal investigations that encircled him throughout his presidential term. In doing so, he bypassed established White House procedures for exercising the broad presidential pardon power. And although he was criticized for the action at the time, there were little if any political consequences . . .

. . . The rules governing presidential pardoning – or at the very least the processes and established guardrails that had guided its use – appear to have been fundamentally and permanently altered. At this point there may be scarce grounds for anyone to complain, no matter on which side of the political aisle they stand.

The Trump camp was quick to issue a response to the news of the Biden pardon, saying that the president-elect would fix the US justice system and restore due process in his second term.

It’s something to keep in mind when Trump returns to office, as he is expected to again use his pardoning power to aid associates who have been prosecuted during the Biden presidency – and to free many of his supporters who have been convicted during the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Thanks for the joke, auntie: "the president-elect would fix the US justice system and restore due process in his second term"
A real side-splitter

[Big RR]

Meade--sadly, I have to agree with you; he appears to have played right into Trump's hands. As I father, I can understand why he did it; and, If he (as I believe) thinks he is someone who thinks he was treated unfairly by the party he devoted his life to (however well-intentioned the actions were), I can also understand sticking it to them, but I think he was clearly wrong here. Sadly, like many parents, Biden has bent the rules and eased the way for his son over and over again--finding him jobs he was unqualified for and pulling the strings to get his butt out of trouble, and that has not played out well for Hunter, making him less and less capable of standing on his own.

I honestly had hoped Biden had a bit more integrity than I gave him credit for, but he acted pretty much the way I had thought he would. The pardon is unquestionably legal (like Trump's was when he pardoned Charles Kushner), but is completely wrong IMHO (ditto). And it leaves a black mark on his presidency.

I'd like to think that Congress would revisit the pardon process and try and put some limits on it (maybe making it subject to an independent commission reviewing applications) but, come on. People will inevitably act in their own self interest and not that of the country that elected them.

ETA:

Now he should preemptively pardon anyone the Rethuglicans might go after.

Scooter--you honestly believe that? What a horrible precedent to begin.

[Bicycle Bill]

Biden also 'pardoned' two turkeys — "Peach" and "Blossom" — as part of an ongoing Presidential tradition.
Meanwhile, Trump has promised that in less than two months from now, he will be pardoning hundreds of turkeys.



-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

After everything good Biden has done for this country over the span of my lifetime which he has spent in public service, and given how he was thrown under the bus by his own party, I really don't GAF about his pardoning Hunter. The Bidens deserve some peace and quiet now.

[Scooter]

Now he should preemptively pardon anyone the Rethuglicans might go after.

Scooter--you honestly believe that? What a horrible precedent to begin.

I absolutely do. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees and others who are at risk of being victimized by Soviet-style show trials for no reason other than they did their jobs. Kash Patel, among others, has as much as said that is what is going to happen. It's bad enough that thousands of federal employees are going to be losing their jobs and replaced with incompetents. They shouldn't have to add the threat of criminal prosecution to their worries. If you were Tony Fauci or Jack Smith at this point, would you not believe that you were owed some protection from spending years in prison for doing your job?

[Bicycle Bill]

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees and others who are at risk of being victimized by Soviet-style show trials for no reason other than they did their jobs. Kash Patel, among others, has as much as said that is what is going to happen. It's bad enough that thousands of federal employees are going to be losing their jobs and replaced with incompetents. They shouldn't have to add the threat of criminal prosecution to their worries.

I honestly believe that if Trump seriously tried something like this, people would rise up and it would be like the French Revolution all over again — and I have to admit that the idea of seeing Donny, JD, Musk, MTG, RFK Jr., and a few others being paraded down the Washington Mall to an appointment with Madame Guillotine does sort of tickle my fancy.   Sic semper tyrannis indeed!!

-"BB"-

[Burning Petard]

"Donald Trump at least he tries to keep his political pledges". Remember the big beautiful wall that Mexico will pay for?

I guess Biden tried to not pardon his son, just like Trump tried to build his wall.

"Try" is such a useful word. I am sure the entire new Executive Branch and GOP majority in Congress, and the Conservative Supremes, will all 'try' to make American great again, you know, like back when the colored folk knew their place, in the back of the buss; like before all those silly women could vote.

snailgate.

[Joe Guy]

What lies has he told are you talking about lies or exaggerations you know there is a difference.

Read Meade's post.

Trump's over-the-top exaggerations are the closest he ever gets to telling the truth.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Democrats have always played by the rules - more or less - and lost. They are like a boxer who obeys the Queensbury rules while trying occasionally to bend them, against a WWF 'fighter' who has no concept of rules.

I wish Biden had not done it, but I understand why he did. Most legal experts agree that the sort of infractions Biden was prosecuted for - tax evasion and the gun thing - rarely carry prison sentences of the sort that were being talked about for Biden.

Anthony Fauci had better be prepared. I think Trump will prosecute him at the behest of his baying supporters.

[Big RR]

Now he should preemptively pardon anyone the Rethuglicans might go after.

Scooter--you honestly believe that? What a horrible precedent to begin.

I absolutely do. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees and others who are at risk of being victimized by Soviet-style show trials for no reason other than they did their jobs. Kash Patel, among others, has as much as said that is what is going to happen. It's bad enough that thousands of federal employees are going to be losing their jobs and replaced with incompetents. They shouldn't have to add the threat of criminal prosecution to their worries. If you were Tony Fauci or Jack Smith at this point, would you not believe that you were owed some protection from spending years in prison for doing your job?

Scooter--if there are serious concerns, then pardons might be warranted for those acts. But to grant dozens (or more) of blanket pardons in the last 6 weeks of the administration, without even any appearance of properly investigating what acts are being pardoned, is ill-advised and even dangerous. Is this what we are becoming, a third rate power who pardons all the acts of the outgoing administration?

[Big RR]

I guess Biden tried to not pardon his son, just like Trump tried to build his wall.

Of course, but the decision to grant a pardon or not was entirely Biden's while Trump's building and funding of the wall was subject to the input of the legislature and the courts. Indeed, it does show the danger of granting any single individual the ability to act unilaterally without any real checks/balances.

Sure, a pardon sounds like a small thing, but I see it as a serious concern that will only embolden the Trump administration to have Trump act unilaterally at the behest of his masters.

[Sue U]

Why all this umbrage over a pardon that is not in the least outside the norms of presidential prerogatives, with barely a peep about the truly outrageous preemptive pardon the Supreme Court has granted Trump for all past and future crimes committed while presidenting? Hunter Biden is spit in the ocean compared to this giant turd in the punchbowl of American jurisprudence.