He Said He Wouldn't Do It: Biden Pardons Son Hunter
Republicans and even some Democrats are criticizing President Joe Biden for issuing a pardon to his son Hunter Biden.
Biden's presidential pardon spares Hunter a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and is exactly what President Biden said before the election that he wouldn't do.
On June 6th, ABC News' David Muir asked Biden, "And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?"
Biden answered, "Yes."
The pardon goes beyond Hunter's gun and tax charges, covering any offenses he committed or may have committed over a ten year period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.
The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Trump posted on Truth Social, "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the January 6th Hostages?" A sign to some that Trump may pardon those convicted over what happened at the Capitol that day.
Republican Congressman James Comer, who chaired one of the House probes into possible Biden family crimes, said in a statement, "The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg... President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability."
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley posted on X, "I'm shocked Pres Biden pardoned his son Hunter because he said many many times he wouldn't & I believed him. Shame on me."
Even Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis blasted the pardon, saying that Biden "put his family ahead of the country" and that the move would "tarnish his reputation."
President Biden said he pardoned his son because he believes Hunter was the victim of a politically motivated prosecution, and that's what Donald Trump's new nominee to run the FBI says he wanted to stop.
Before Trump nominated him for the post, Kash Patel was asked by Fox News how he could restore trust in the FBI and Justice Department.
"One thing, exposure of corruption," Patel responded. "Put out the documents. Put out the evidence. We only have gotten halfway down the Russia gate hole. The people need to know that their FBI is restored by knowing full well what they did to unlawfully surveil them."
Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin told CNN Patel will just take orders from Trump.
"I haven't seen what the proof is that the FBI has been weaponized against a political party or the Department of Justice," Raskin said. "I mean the 'deep state', nobody's ever defined it apparently. It just means anybody who doesn't do the will of Donald Trump."
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on CBS' Face the Nation responded to critics, saying, "All of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, all of the people pulling their hair out are exactly the people who are dismayed about having a real reformer come into the FBI and clean out the corrupted partisans who sadly have burrowed into senior career positions at the FBI."
The current FBI Director Christopher Wray's term does not expire until 2027. If he doesn't retire, he would have to be fired by the Trump White House.
