President Biden issues 'full and unconditional' pardon to son Hunter in bombshell U-turn over gun and tax convictions
2 December 2024, 05:39 | Updated: 2 December 2024, 06:22
Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, in an unprecedented U-turn that could see him avoid a possible prison sentence in relation to federal gun and tax charges in the final weeks of his presidency.
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The Democratic president had previously stated he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence in relation to his convictions in two cases in Delaware and California between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.
Sunday night's decision marked an apparent change of heart for the president, who had previously said "Hunter was treated differently" in relation to cases but vowed to respect the outcome of the US justice system.
The charges against Hunter Biden, which date back to 2018, relate to the purchase of a gun and a more recent conviction for tax evasion.
"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," Mr. Biden said in a statement Sunday night.
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The conviction made Hunter Biden the first child of a sitting president to be convicted while in office.
However, Sunday's historic decision saw Biden reverse past promises not to use his powers of office for the benefit of family members.
In June, President Biden categorically ruled out pardoning his son, declaring: "I will accept the outcome of this case, I will continue to accept the judicial process".
The move rounds off a long-running legal saga in relation to the president's son, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 - a month after Joe Biden's 2020 victory.
Hunter was due to be sentenced later this month on two charges - namely possession of a gun while addicted to drugs and a later case, which came to court in June of this year, his failure to pay more than $1million in income tax.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the first charge, citing his recovery from addiction, stating that this made his declaration truthful.
The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced after his trial conviction - and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
In June, Mr Biden told reporters following the Delaware gun case: "I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him."
As recently as November 8, days after Trump's victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Mr Biden, saying, "We've been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no."
In a statement released on Sunday evening, Mr 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," Mr 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," Mr Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend.
The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with Hunter and his family.
He 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 dollars (£1.1 million) in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanour 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.
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 Mr Biden said.
A spokesperson for special counsel David Weiss, who brought the cases, did not respond to messages seeking comment from AP on Sunday night.
