Tommy Tuberville admitted he would have done what Joe Biden did when he pardoned his son Hunter, but doesn’t like that the president lied about it.
The former college football coach turned conservative Alabama senator was asked for his thoughts on Biden’s shocking announcement with just 50 days left in his lame duck presidency.
“Well, I’ll put it this way: If it was my son, I’d pardon him too,” said Tuberville, who has two sons.
Tuberville said at the time that he hated that the Biden administration continually lied to the American people and said outright as recently as June that he would not pardon Hunter Biden.
“But here’s what I didn’t like: Don’t lie to us. Don’t tell us you’re not going to do it, and then do it. That’s not how a president should be.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last month that the administration had no plans to pardon the First Son.
Tuberville said he would have understood if Biden had simply hedged and said he would make the decision when it was necessary.
“But don’t lie to the American people, because that’s just not in line with the president of the United States.”
Tommy Tuberville admitted he would have done what Joe Biden did when he pardoned his son Hunter, but doesn’t like that the president lied about it
The former college football coach turned conservative Alabama senator was asked for his opinion on Biden’s shocking announcement with just 50 days left in his lame duck presidency
He then suggested that “many family members” and others in the Biden administration would be pardoned closer to the end of Biden’s term.
“This has been a difficult time for our country because a family like this is involved in everything they have been involved in.”
“I’m not going to persecute or guilt trip anyone at this point, but I think in the future, with the things I’ve seen, you’ll see a lot of things that will come out that don’t fit with this. administration.’
Biden’s rationale for the pardon, which will protect Hunter from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, was to protect his son from what he said was selective and unfair prosecution.
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Department of Justice’s decision-making, and I have kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unjustly prosecuted,” Biden said in a statement. declaration.
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out solely because he is my son – and that is wrong,” he continued.
Hunter was convicted in June of lying on a federal government form to purchase a gun and possessing the firearm while on drugs. In September, he pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of tax evasion.
He faced a prison sentence of 25 years on the weapons charges and 17 years on the tax charges, although it was likely he would have served far less than under federal sentencing guidelines.
Tuberville said he would have understood if Biden had simply hedged and said he would make the decision when necessary.
He then suggested that “many family members” and others in the Biden administration would be pardoned closer to the end of Biden’s term.
Now it is guaranteed that Hunter will not spend a day in jail for these crimes.
Critics claimed it was a broadly written pardon an attempt to cover up his actions on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
That’s because Hunter joined Burisma’s board in 2014, the very year Biden extended the pardon.
Hunter was paid millions for his role in the company, despite having no background in the gas or energy sectors.
In 2023, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that the younger Biden helped coordinate a plan with Democratic strategists to “close all cases against the owner of an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company” and “obtain intelligence” on the country’s top prosecutor’s office the country.
The emails support former Ukrainian Attorney General Viktor Shokin’s claims that the First Son and his father, then vice president, conspired to end Shokin’s criminal investigation into Burisma.
Another aspect of the controversy is Biden’s complete reversal on granting a reprieve to his son.
Biden said as recently as June that he would “not pardon” his son, unlike Trump, who has said bluntly that he would pardon the January 6 rioters.
With a pardon from Joe Biden, Hunter can avoid prison time for his numerous convictions for gun evasion and tax evasion
The White House has also repeatedly denied that a pardon would be forthcoming.
Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s press secretary, has come under fire from reporters aboard Air Force One since she said several weeks ago that a pardon or clemency for Hunter was out of the question.
Jean-Pierre insisted the president was a truthful man who only came to his decision over the weekend, as he said in his Sunday statement.
“First of all, one of the things the president has always believed in is being fair to the American people,” she said. “That’s something he always really believes in.”
Trump’s immediate response to Biden’s shock move was to suggest he might pardon the remaining people convicted of rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“Does Joe’s pardon to Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who have been held captive for years now? What an abuse and miscarriage of justice!’ Trump wrote.
Even other prominent members of Biden’s own party criticized him, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis.