U.S. President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month for federal tax and gun convictions as he prepares to leave office.
In a statement issued by the White House on Sunday, December 1, Biden said that his son had been “singled out” and “selectively, and unfairly” prosecuted due to his family name.
This official grant of clemency cannot be rescinded by President-elect Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentencing on Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges.
He also was set to be sentenced on Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
“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,” Biden said in his statement.
The president issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for any offenses Hunter Biden has “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” according to the White House statement.
