WASHINGTON, D.C.—Outgoing President Joe Biden (D) announced on December 1, an Executive Grant of Clemency, effectively granting a full and unconditional pardon, for his son Robert Hunter Biden for convictions related to federal gun and federal tax evasion charges.
On June 11, 2024, Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony gun charges related to the purchase of a gun in 2018. These charges include lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user, and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days. Then on September 5, 2024, the President’s son was convicted of nine tax charges, which include three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses. These charges relate to his failure to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019, and evading taxes by filing false returns.
After Hunter’s June convection on federal gun charges, President Biden said, “I will not pardon him [Hunter Biden].”
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges facing up to 25 years in prison and on December 16 for federal tax evasion charges where he faced up to 17 years in federal prison and $1.35 million in fines.
In a statement released by his legal team to The New York Post, Hunter said “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.”
“Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends,” Hunter added.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump, told NBC news, “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system. That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.”
Executive Grant of Clemency statement on White House website
Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN a Full and Unconditional Pardon for those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
President Joe Biden full statement on his Grant of Clemency for son Hunter Biden
“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. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.
“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. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.
“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 – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.
“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.”
Author: Mario Lotmore
