Summary

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, reversing his prior stance against using executive clemency.

The pardon covers Hunter’s federal gun conviction and tax evasion guilty plea, sparking political controversy.

Biden cited political attacks and a “miscarriage of justice” as reasons for his decision, emphasizing his son’s recovery from addiction and the targeting of his family.

Critics argue the move undermines the judicial process, while supporters view it as within Biden’s constitutional powers.

This decision shields Hunter from potential prison time as Biden nears the end of his presidency.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    That pardon smells fishy, but I can understand that he does not want to leave his son exposed to imprisonment under Trump. Donald has shown time and again that he has no problems in going after weak persons to extract petty revenge.

    • bradd@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      That’s funny because people say, despite the threats, he didn’t actually imprison anyone. Hillary comes to mind but I wasn’t paying attention enough to know who else he said should he locked up.

      • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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        25 days ago

        Because there were no actual prosecutable actions to convict anyone for, the republicans were just assembling one “special investigation” after another in an effort to waste everyone’s time. Come to think of it, most of the things conservatives scream about are akin to a child’s tantrum that you just try to mitigate until they’re quiet enough to sit down and get some work done…except we keep feeding them sugar and cartoons instead of putting their childish plantation asses to bed.

        • pyro@discuss.online
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          25 days ago

          I’m no Trump supporter by any stretch of the imagination, but during his initial presidency, it felt like both sides were throwing shit at the wall to see what stuck. Endless investigations and political tantrums that ultimately led nowhere and set the stage for the chaotic timeline we’re living in now.

          • btaf45@lemmy.world
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            25 days ago

            That was no “both sides” thing. The crimes that Treason Trump is guilty of are very serious. Our democracy has been seriously hurt by him not getting punished, it is just something that is not immediately obvious, like a rotted out board. Nothing that Hunter Biden did remotely rises to that level.

            • pyro@discuss.online
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              24 days ago

              Trump’s actions have been shady and potentially illegal, but calling them “treason” is a stretch. Critics seemed determined to paint him as a villain early on, before any lines were even crossed. Yes, he withheld documents, just as Clinton deleted emails, and both cases left unanswered questions about what might have been compromised. As for Hunter Biden, he’s not a public official, but the scope of his pardon raises fair questions about the past decade.

              January 6 is no different - blaming the insurrection entirely on Trump is oversimplified. He questioned the election, but nowhere did he explicitly tell people to storm the Capitol. The idea that an uncoordinated mob could even overthrow the government is absurd. What were they going to do; occupy the Capitol and declare victory? This exaggerated narrative is politically convenient but ultimately baseless.

              Like I said, I’m not a Trump supporter and haven’t voted for him in any of his campaigns, but these repetitive talking points have been dragged out and beaten to death, accomplishing nothing while distracting from real issues - especially with him set to return to office in just over a month.

              • btaf45@lemmy.world
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                22 days ago

                Critics seemed determined to paint him as a villain early on, before any lines were even crossed.

                WTF Dude Treason Trump blatently crossed so many lines. Trying to overturn the will of the voters IS LITERALLY THE MOST UNAMERICAN THING ANY POLICITIAN CAN EVER DO.

                He questioned the election,

                He did way more than that. He tried to bully people into overturning the will of the voters. Every single day from the election day in 2020 to Jan 6.

                Here are 164 pages of details about those crimes.

                https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/10/gov.uscourts.dcd_.258148.252.0.pdf

        • bradd@lemmy.world
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          25 days ago

          Good point so there were prosecutable actions to convict in Hunter’s case and he was pardoned by family. I guess that’s reasonable.

    • btaf45@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      I knew all along that Biden was going to pardon his son after the election. It doesn’t surprise or bother me. The firearms charge he was charged with was something that likely wouldn’t have been prosecuted if he was a regular person. I thought the tax evasion charge was much more serious but he wasn’t charged on that.

      • moktor@lemmy.world
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        24 days ago

        He was charged on the tax evasion charges. He plead guilty in September and was due to be sentenced on Dec 16th.