First son Hunter Biden said Sunday after his father, President Joe Biden, forgave him, that he had “taken responsibility” for his mistakes that had been “exploited to publicly humiliate and embarrass me and my family for political sport.” “.
Hunter Biden, 54, was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year: He was first found guilty in June of three felony federal gun violations and pleaded guilty in September in a felony tax case. separate bass.
“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,” Hunter Biden said in a statement to Fox News. “Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for over five years thanks to my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.”
“In the midst of addiction, I wasted many opportunities and advantages,” he continued. “In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy we have been granted. I will never take for granted the mercy I have been granted today and will dedicate my life to help those who are still sick and suffering.
BIDEN FORGIVES SON HUNTER BIDEN BEFORE DEPARTURE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 3, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The president's pardon for his son, announced by the White House on Sunday night, applies to crimes against the United States that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from January 1, 2014 to December 1 of 2024.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Department of Justice's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”
The outgoing president also argued that his son was “treated differently” in his criminal cases.
“Without aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a gun as a straw buyer, people are almost never brought to trial for felonies solely because of how they filled out a gun form,” the statement said. “Those who fell behind on paying their taxes due to serious addictions, but subsequently repaid them with interest and penalties, typically receive non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
President Biden further said that the cases against his son only came about because of Republican opposition to him and his victory in the 2020 election against President-elect Donald Trump.
“The charges in their cases arose only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” the president said. “Then a carefully negotiated plea deal agreed to by the Department of Justice fell apart in the courtroom, with several of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for putting political pressure on the process. If the plea agreement had been entered into, “There has been a fair and reasonable resolution of the Hunter cases.”
BIDEN WON'T FORGIVE HUNTER, THE WHITE HOUSE REAFFIRMS, BUT CRITICS ARE NOT SO SURE
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage as they conclude the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter's cases can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out just because he is my son, and that is wrong,” he continued. “There has been an effort to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecutions. By trying to break Hunter, they have tried to break me, and there is no reason to do that.” . I think this will stop here.
The president also blamed “crude politics” for the prosecutions against his son.
“Throughout my entire career I have followed one simple principle: tell the truth to the American people,” he said. “They will be impartial. This is the truth: I believe in the justice system, but while I have struggled with this, I also believe that crude politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice, and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any further.”
And he concluded: “I hope Americans understand why a father and a president made this decision.”
A court document obtained by Fox News showed that Hunter Biden signed his name to a legal acknowledgment of the pardon.
President Biden's decision to forgive his son is a departure from multiple statements he made to the media over the summer in which he stated that he would not forgive his first son.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, attends an event celebrating the 2024 US Olympic and Paralympic teams on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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In the gun case, Hunter Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement relating to information required to be maintained by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by of a person who is an illegal user or addict of a controlled substance.
Prosecutors specifically sought to prove that he lied on a federal firearms form in October 2018, when he checked a box for “No” when asked if he was an illegal substance user or a controlled substance addict.
The other trial focused on three serious tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses for failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to begin in federal court in Los Angeles, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty.
Trump said earlier on the campaign trail that he would consider pardoning Hunter Biden.
