PRESIDENT Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his troubled son Hunter following gun and tax charges.
The bombshell decision comes as the president has repeatedly said that he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence.
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In a statement released by the White House, Biden said: “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 decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
He added: “For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth.
“They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
The pardon comes ahead of Hunter Biden’s December 12 sentencing for his conviction on federal gun charges.
Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced in a separate criminal case on December 16, after pleading guilty in September to federal tax evasion charges.
The pardon spares the younger Biden from a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.
It caps a long-running legal saga for the president’s son, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 a month after Joe Bidens 2020 victory.
In June, as his son Hunter was facing trial in the gun case in Delaware, Biden ruled out a pardon or clemency for his son in an interview with ABC News.
As recently as November 8, 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.”
Hunter Biden was previously found guilty on all charges of his federal gun trial in June.
The turbulent life of Hunter was thrown into the spotlight as a federal courtroom heard shocking testimony about his drug addiction, which spiraled out of control after the death of his brother, Beau Biden, in 2015.
A 12-panel jury in Wilmington, Delaware, convicted Hunter, who chose not to testify in his defense, on all charges on Tuesday after deliberating for about three hours.
Hunter stared straight ahead and showed no emotion as the verdict was read.
The First Son shook hands with some of his associates seated in the gallery behind the defense table and hugged his attorneys, Abbe Lowell and David Kolansky, before kissing his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’
Prosecutors hammered the narrative that Hunter Biden knowingly lied on a firearm form about using drugs when he bought a gun nearly six years ago.
Federal prosecutors said that on October 12, 2018, Hunter walked into the StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply store in Wilmington and purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver.
The government said the president’s son answered “No” to a question on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form that asked if he was using or was addicted to drugs or a controlled substance.
“The defendant knew he used crack and was addicted to crack at the relevant time period,” prosecutor Leo Wise said during closing arguments.
“There is no evidence that anyone else possessed the gun from October 12 to October 23, other than the defendant,” Wise added of the gun Hunter owned for 11 days.
Jurors heard punishing testimony from those closest to Hunter about his years of drug addiction.
Prosecutors even played audio excerpts from Hunter’s 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, in the courtroom, which described in the defendant’s own words his trouble with drugs and his sobriety.
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HUNTER’S DRUG ADDICTION IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Federal prosecutors called three of Hunter’s exes as witnesses. All testified at great lengths about his crack cocaine addiction.
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s ex-wife, told the courtroom how she found a crack pipe in their home and drug paraphernalia in his pickup truck.
Buhle told jurors that her ex-husband acknowledged smoking crack.
Hunter’s ex-lover and former sex worker, Zoe Kestan, shockingly testified how the First Son would smoke crack up to every 20 minutes from the moment he woke up.
Meanwhile, Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, briefly described her romance with Hunter and how he introduced her to crack.
“It was a terrible experience that I went through, and I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed of that period of my life,” a remorseful Hallie, 50, said.
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What are the charges against Hunter Biden?
In September 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on three felony gun charges after a plea agreement with federal prosecutors unraveled. Prosecutors claim that on October 12, 2018, Hunter purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver from a Delaware gun store and lied on the ATF firearm form when he said he was not abusing drugs.
- Count 1: Hunter is charged with ‘knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement’ on a form used for firearms purchases.
- Count 2: Hunter allegedly knowingly made false statements and representations to the Wilmington gun store.
- When a person buys a gun, they must fill out a form with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and confirm that they are legally allowed to buy the weapon.
- The purchaser must affirm that they have not been convicted of a felony, are not a fugitive, are in the United States legally, and are not addicted or using illegal drugs.
- Count 3: Hunter is accused of illegally possessing a gun while abusing drugs. He owned the gun for 11 days in 2018.
- Counts one and two carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the third count has a maximum of five years.
Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison. However, first-time offenders hardly ever receive the maximum penalty. It’s unclear if Judge Maryellen Noreika will impose a jail sentence.
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