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| Hunter Biden gets Presidential Pardon. (Page 1/3) |
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blackrams
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DEC 01, 08:14 PM
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And he said he wouldn't............................................
Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to
https://www.aol.com/biden-p...spite-003718639.html
| quote | WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.
The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy. Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump's first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.
In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump's victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”
In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” alleging that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.”
“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said. “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.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend. The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with Hunter and his family, and was set to depart later Sunday on what may be his last foreign trip as president before leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
He was set to stand trial in September in the 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.
Hunter Biden said he was pleading guilty in that case to spare his family more pain and embarrassment after the gun trial aired salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.
The tax charges carry up to 17 years behind bars and the gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible he would avoid prison time entirely.
The sweeping pardon covers not just those offenses, but also any other “offenses 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."
Biden is hardly the first president to deploy his pardon powers to benefit those close to him.
In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump this week announced plans to nominate the elder Kushner to be the U.S. envoy to France in his next administration.
Hunter Biden said in an emailed statement that he will never take for granted the relief granted to him and vowed to devote the life he has rebuilt “to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
“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,” the younger Biden said.
A spokesperson for special counsel David Weiss, who brought the cases, did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday night. |
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Personally, I believe we all knew this was going to happen. Just another lie Biden told us to stay in power. Had he won, Hunter would have received his pardon after the election but, he would have never seen a day behind bars. Had Harris won, the same thing would have happened, I have no doubt.
Rams[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 12-01-2024).]
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rbell2915
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DEC 01, 08:54 PM
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This is my shocked face 
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Patrick
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DEC 01, 10:13 PM
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Whether it's being done by an outgoing Republican or Democrat POTUS, this ability to pardon friends and family is outrageous. It makes a mockery of the American judicial system.
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blackrams
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DEC 01, 10:41 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Patrick:
Whether it's being done by an outgoing Republican or Democrat POTUS, this ability to pardon friends and family is outrageous. It makes a mockery of the American judicial system. |
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I tend to agree. But, I don't know how to fix it. 
Rams
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Patrick
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DEC 01, 10:51 PM
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When even the guy who boasted of his supposed plan to "drain the swamp" took advantage of it, I don't think there's much hope of this nonsense being eliminated. It's difficult to feel that there's such a thing as an honorable politician of any stripe... anywhere. It's possible that there's the occasional unicorn that starts off with the best of intentions, but once they're in power, it seems their resolve dissolves.
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maryjane
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DEC 02, 02:08 AM
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I'm not at all surprised Biden did that uh, you know the uh, that thing, about his son.
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randye
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DEC 02, 05:37 AM
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Before the White House door closes behind him he will also pardon his brother, James, and himself.
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cliffw
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DEC 02, 09:05 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by Patrick:
Whether it's being done by an outgoing Republican or Democrat POTUS, this ability to pardon friends and family is outrageous. It makes a mockery of the American judicial system. |
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Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Politicians are supposed to divest themselves from personal gain.
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blackrams
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DEC 02, 09:09 AM
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A Presidential Pardon covering an 11-year period for crimes he is convicted of or may have been involved in?
This has got to be the biggest Presidential Pardon (Get out of Jail Free Card) of all time!!!
Rams
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Raydar
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DEC 02, 10:04 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
A Presidential Pardon covering an 11-year period for crimes he is convicted of or may have been involved in?
This has got to be the biggest Presidential Pardon (Get out of Jail Free Card) of all time!!!
Rams
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Check out the Newsweek article. Sorry... don't have a link.
It essentially says that, since he's no longer being prosecuted, he can no longer plead the 5th.
He also can be summoned to testify before congress. If he lies, he can be prosecuted for that. If he refuses to appear, he can be held in contempt of congress.
If...
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