I read over Biden's statement, and it makes sense to me. Hunter was singled out for political purposes. It would seem weird if Biden didn't issue the pardon.
this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Good, now do Snowden.
Never gonna happen. Snowden did at least break some laws.
I want him pardoned but no president ever will.
a pardon requires an admission of guilt.
well he doesn't deny he did it does he? He just claims he was justified in doing so.
Despite what Biden may try and spin this as, this is not just about the (aggressively politicized and pursued) 4473 ‘unlawful user’ perjury charge - otherwise why include the years prior to that act?
President Joe Biden’s son is charged with lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware
Because Biden pardoned him from 2014 to present, it also includes the known tax evasion and FARA illicit lobbying concerns.
The Justice Department on Tuesday [June 18th 2023] said the investigation into Hunter Biden was “ongoing” even as it announced terms of a plea agreement [for gun and tax charges]
DoJ felt that there was more to investigate even if the tax and gun charges were covered in a plea deal. Read: there’s something there regarding Hunter’s lobbying efforts - and from internal Burisma emails he knew about the law and FARA concerns.
In the same April 2014 email, Hunter Biden indicated that Burisma’s officials “need to know in no uncertain terms that we will not and cannot intervene directly with domestic policymakers, and that we need to abide by FARA and any other U.S. laws in the strictest sense across the board.”
Biden is right that most 4473 charges would never get this far - what he’s cynically not pointing out (from the bully pulpit, lame duck or not) is the context of why prosecutors drop gun charges in plea deals or pursue maximal charges at trial, or the wider criminal case against his son.
The simple truth is, the entire case against Hunter Biden was politically motivated from the start.
He paid the back taxes and the gun charges are normally laughed out of court.
This was always a Republican prosecutor wanting to make a name for themselves, and with Trump taking power, well, we all know how vindictive Trump is.
I don't expect this pardon to matter much, Trump and the Republicans don't care about law or tradition or reality. They care about power, and are less than 2 months away from it.
You’re missing my point, Biden did not give his failson a targeted pardon nor a blanket universal pardon for his whole lifetime. The gun charge stems from a crime in 2018. The tax charge is from as early as 2015. The illegal lobbying/FARA investigation stretches to at least 2014. Witch hunt investigation or not, it was sustained into federal charges and was going to trial, out of a California and Delaware court - not Texas or Alabama.
If this pardon is just about the gun charge, as Biden alleges, why extend it back beyond 2018 and into 2014 when the alleged FARA/lobbying crimes were committed? Or if he’s so concerned about his son’s future unjust prosecution under a Trump DoJ, why is Biden blithely consenting to handing over power to Trump after the Supreme Court gave him near unlimited executive power?
Sure wish anyfuckingbody with power cared about helping THE ACTUAL COUNTRY WHILE THERE'S STILL TIME
So glad Biden is so concerned about following the law that protecting vulnerable people with his newly granted immunity is something he would never consider doing.
Oh right, Republicans went after his family and he still picked Garland as his AG.
Nice. Hopefully Biden keeps doing more good shit in his remaining few weeks while the MAGAt snowflakes are triggered and distracted by Hunter's dick again.
Biden knows they will come after himself but he's too old so they will slam the hammer on his son with the maximum force they can get out of it, this is a good way to thwart that political attack.
Also, someone should remind Trump that he handled firearms after he was convicted of a felony and was not prosecuted for that ...
Though I don't think the importance of that fact will dawn on Trump, he never felt rules applied to him.
Old rich guy who has never had to face consequences for any action coming to a realization? Sure.
It would have been nice if he could have used his presidential powers
to prevent the genocide...
Or to change that stupid ATF form 4473 which basically requires anyone who smokes weed to either commit a felony by lying (checking the box for they don't use illegal drugs) or tell the truth (checking the box that they do) and being unable to purchase a firearm. Unfortunately the war on law abiding gun owners had to continue so on a few occasions their position continued to be that marijuana users should not be allowed to buy or own firearms.
Hypocrisy+++++
That question is required by HR 1025 ("The Brady Act"). To get rid of weed as a factor, there would either need to be a change to the form requirement, or weed to be made federally legal and thus not an illegal substance. The requirement is not an ATF determination.
Joe Biden could theoretically pardon all people in violation of this, but I wouldn't hold my breath for a blanket universal pardon involving guns and weed together.
Or anything he promised to do while in office
Good decision. Trump and his gang promised all kinds of revenge. They don't play by the rules. So it makes sense to do whatever for your last son.
If we’re going to start abusing presidential power preemptively, can we get some sort of executive protections for trans rights or waiving student loans? Things that’ll help someone other than the addict failson?
Trump would just cancel them all. Day one like he did last time.
Canceling student loans would be hard to undo though. If we’re shutting down the Department of education anyway… who’s keeping track?
Agreed. If Hunter Biden’s issues hadn’t been politically weaponized so much, I doubt Biden would have done it, but the truth is, with Trump coming in to office and threatening retaliation, it makes sense to pardon him.
The crimes Hunter was charged with are rarely enforced and rarely involve jail time. The Republican's made this a political circus that would have certainly had Hunter doing time. If it wasn't for that, Joe would not have needed to pardon him.
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If the republicans don’t like this, the democrats will happily support a supermajority legislature vote that starts limiting executive power.
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