Hunter Biden expressed regret and promised to help the “sick and suffering” in a statement after his father Joe granted him a presidential pardon.
Biden’s father made the shocking announcement Sunday night that he would grant a presidential pardon to his troubled son, calling his prosecution “selective” and “unfair.”
Hunter issued a statement of his own, in which he does not directly mention his father, after the decision was made, credited to his full name, ‘Robert Hunter Biden.’
“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction, mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” he said.
“Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for over five years thanks to my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.”
Hunter attributed his actions that led to convictions on federal tax and gun fraud charges to his well-documented problems with alcohol and drugs.
‘In the midst of addiction, I wasted many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives by never taking for granted the mercy we have been given.’
He made a promise to repay that mercy with the freedom his father has granted him.
Hunter Biden expressed his regret and promised to help the “sick and suffering” in a statement after his father Joe granted him a presidential pardon.
Hunter blamed his actions that led to convictions on federal tax and gun fraud charges on his well-documented problems with alcohol and drugs.
“I will never take for granted the clemency I have been granted today and will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
The explosive U-turn decision comes just weeks after the White House denied that the president would take drastic action in the final months of his outgoing presidency. Biden himself said in June that he “would not forgive” his son.
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted,” Biden said in a statement.
The president stated that people “are almost never brought to trial for serious crimes solely because of how they filled out a weapons form.”
He then added: “It’s clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
Biden raged against “several of my political opponents in Congress” who he said made a public spectacle of the allegations “to attack me and oppose my election.”
He added that the plea deal Hunter agreed to with the Justice Department was a “fair and reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.” But that deal collapsed at the last minute due to political pressure.
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out just because he is my son, and that is wrong,” he continued.
He made a promise to repay that mercy with the freedom his father has granted him.
Hunter spent last season on vacation with his father and the rest of the Bidens in Nantucket, Rhode Island.
Biden says there has been an effort to “break Hunter” and destroy what he claims are five and a half years of sobriety.
‘In trying to break Hunter, they have tried to break me, and there is no reason to believe it will end here. That’s enough.’
The president did not hesitate to point out that his son’s love guided his decision-making, but emphasized that he was being “impartial.”
“This is the truth: I believe in the justice system, but while I have struggled with this, I also believe that crude politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, There was no point in delaying it further.
Hunter was last seen vacationing with his father and the rest of the Bidens in Nantucket, Rhode Island.
“I hope Americans understand why a father and a president would make this decision.”
For months, the nation wondered whether the president would forgive his unwell son for his convictions on federal tax fraud and gun charges.
NBC News first reported Sunday night that Biden planned to pardon his son. Minutes later, the White House issued a statement.
The explosive U-turn decision comes just weeks after the White House denied that the president would take drastic action in the final months of his outgoing presidency. Biden himself said in June that he “would not forgive” his son.
In a statement, a spokesman for Donald Trump criticized what he called the Democratic-controlled justice system, but did not appear to disagree with the decision.
‘The failed witch hunt against President Trump has shown that the Democrat-controlled Department of Justice and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system. “That justice system must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do when he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people,” Steven Cheung told DailyMail.com.
However, on Truth Social, he seemed a little angrier, questioning whether the same courtesy would be given to those accused for their actions at the Capitol on January 6.
He wrote: ‘Does Joe’s pardon for Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who have been imprisoned for years? What an abuse and miscarriage of justice!
His father and even Trump have been trolled over the issue, with Trump suggesting it wasn’t out of the question despite having criticized the First Son for years.
Abbe Lowell, a key member of Hunter’s legal team, 54, had begun making her client’s case that he was a political prisoner to the press.
“This is a seven-year saga driven by a relentless political desire to use a son to harm his father,” Lowell said.
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the president general power to pardon any federal crime, something most outgoing presidents do in their final days in office, some controversial, others routine.
Other presidents have granted controversial pardons, usually in the final days of their presidency.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes he had “committed or may have committed” in the Watergate scandal. This was the first preventive pardon granted by a president.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton pardoned 140 people on his last day in office, including billionaire Marc Rich, who had been on the run for decades for fraud related to illegal oil deals and failing to pay more than $48 million in taxes.
Family pardons are also not unknown in presidential history. Before leaving office, Clinton granted her brother Roger a controversial presidential pardon for a 1985 cocaine trafficking conviction.
Trump himself pardoned Charles Kushner, father of his son-in-law and former adviser Jared, before leaving office in 2020. Kushner was named US ambassador to France yesterday.
In the final 12 hours of his presidency, Donald Trump pardoned and commuted the sentences of 144 people, including former advisers Stephen Bannon and Roger Stone, as well as rapper Lil Wayne.
Lowell has reiterated that the only reason Hunter faces a conviction is political gain for his father’s enemies.
“It is a wild and terrifying story that serves as a stark warning of what is to come as some of the same Republicans who attacked Hunter prepare to retake power and have declared their intention to use the vast power of the government to persecute their supposed enemies,” lowell said washington mail.
In June, Biden repeated his promise not to forgive his son in his first public comments about Hunter since last week’s conviction. Hunter could face up to 25 years in prison.
He also said he was satisfied his son had a fair trial and reiterated his support.
‘I am very proud of my son Hunter. He has overcome an addiction. He is one of the brightest and most decent men I know. And I’m satisfied that I’m not going to do anything. I said I would abide by the jury’s decision. I will do that. And I will not forgive him,’ Biden said Thursday.
And he responded with a simple ‘no’ when asked directly if he would commute Hunter’s sentence.
Both Biden and his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre have repeatedly denied that Hunter will be pardoned by his father.
When asked in November, just over 24 hours after the presidential election was called in Trump’s favor, whether Biden has any intention of pardoning his son, Jean-Pierre responded: “We’ve been asked that question several times.” . Our answer is valid: no.’
Hunter Biden has dealt with addiction issues for years.
The trial revealed some of the family’s darkest moments as they dealt with Hunter’s drug use.
In the June gun purchase case, jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false statement on the application that he did not use drugs and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days.
Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison, although as a first-time offender he would not be close to the maximum, and there is no guarantee the judge will send him to prison.
In the September tax case, Hunter could face up to 17 years in prison for his crimes, which include tax evasion, filing fraudulent tax returns and failing to pay taxes. The judge could also impose a substantial fine, perhaps up to $1.3 million.
The judges in both cases were appointed by President Trump.
Hunter is a first time offender. He has been sober for years and paid his taxes and fines, although that money came from a wealthy friend.
President Biden IIt is known that he is devastated by the situation.
Hours after Hunter’s conviction in June in the Delaware firearms case, President Biden flew to Wilmington to spend the night with his family before departing for the G7 summit in Italy.
And he also enjoyed a few minutes with his son on the track, hugging him in full view of the cameras.