Pardoning His Son, Joe Biden: I Hope Americans Understand Why a Father and President Made This Decision

President Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/Adam Schultz)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, despite previously promising not to get involved in the legal process against his son who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted of firearms-related charges.

"Today, I am signing a pardon for my son Hunter. Since I took office, I have said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I have kept my promise, even as I have seen my son selectively and unfairly prosecuted," the President said in a statement, reported by Reuters on December 2.

The White House has repeatedly said that President Biden will not pardon or commute the sentence for Hunter who is targeted by Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.

"No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter's case could come to any other conclusion than Hunter was chosen simply because he is my son," President Biden said in a statement released shortly before his trip to Africa.

The pardon said President Biden had granted Hunter Biden a “full and unconditional” pardon for any offense between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.

Hunter Biden was previously facing sentencing on false statements and weapons charges this month. In September, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes on various items, including luxury goods. He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case on Dec. 16.

“I have acknowledged and accepted responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly shame and humiliate me and my family for political gain,” Hunter Biden said in a statement Sunday, adding that he has remained sober for more than five years.

“In the throes of addiction, I squandered countless opportunities and privileges. I will never take for granted the pardon I have been granted today and will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” he added.

The president, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, said his opponents had tried to destroy Hunter through selective prosecution.

He said people are almost never prosecuted for crimes because of the way they fill out their gun ownership forms, and said others who fall behind on their taxes because of addiction but pay them back with interest and penalties, as his son did, typically receive non-criminal settlements of their cases.

"It is clear that Hunter was treated differently. The charges in his case came only after some of my political opponents in Congress incited them to attack me and challenge my election," President Biden said.

"In trying to destroy Hunter, they have tried to destroy me — and there is no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough," he added.

In August 2023, Hunter Biden's attorney said prosecutors had reneged on a plea deal that would have resolved the tax and gun charges.

The president said in a statement that the plea deal "would be a fair and reasonable resolution of Hunter's case."

President Biden said he made his decision to grant the pardon over the weekend.

It is known that President Biden, his wife, Jill Biden and their family including Hunter, spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and returned to Washington on Saturday night.

"Here's the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I grapple with this, I also believe that crass politics have tainted this process and led to injustice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any further," Biden said.

"I hope the American people will understand why a father and a President made this decision," he said.