When President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, he received a barrage of criticism, much of it centered around the argument that “nobody is above the law” and that he had previously pledged not to pardon his son. Critics also say that it gives President-elect Donald Trump political cover to use pardons even more expansively and shamelessly.
The critics are wrong. President Biden was right - and righteous - to do what he did.
Pressured Prosecution
Absent aggravating factors like the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, people are rarely, if ever, indicted on felony charges simply because of how they answered a question on a gun purchase form. Misdemeanor tax evasion charges are typically resolved civilly, not criminally, directly with the IRS. In the rare case when the government does pursue criminal charges, the result is commonly serving two years’ probation outside of jail. These were the misdeeds of Hunter Biden, who was accused and convicted.
But given Hunter’s last name, “[Republicans] took credit for bringing political pressure on the process,” to quote Joe Biden.
While Hunter agreed to a plea deal on the gun charge that would not have involved prison time, its scope was questioned by a Trump-appointed judge, Maryellen Noreika, and ultimately, the deal fell apart. Trump then publicly attacked special counsel David Weiss, a Republican prosecutor appointed in 2018 by Trump, who negotiated the plea bargain.
“Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of [former Attorney General] Bill Barr,” Trump posted on social media. Instead of following through on a deal he himself negotiated and without any new evidence, Weiss changed course, demanded that Hunter accept new harsher terms, and brought the gun charge to trial, a rare occurrence that resulted in Hunter’s conviction.
Hunter Biden was due to be sentenced on the gun conviction on December 12, followed by a December 16 sentencing on the tax evasion plea. Maximum penalties for the two charges are up to 42 years in prison, but as a first-time offender and a recovering addict who expressed remorse, Hunter was most likely looking at probation or less than 36 months in a minimum-security prison, according to sentencing experts.
That was then, this is now
President Biden was ready to live with such a verdict and stated publicly last June that he would not interfere with the justice system and would not pardon his son. His White House spokesperson repeated these assertions in August and again in November.
But that was then.
In just 30 days following President Trump’s election victory, a much clearer picture has emerged of the types of people the president-elect is nominating for key law enforcement positions, particularly Kash Patel as FBI Director, Pam Bondi for Attorney General, and Kristi Noem for Director of Homeland Security. And this is what Trump’s nominees have said:
Patel has drawn up an enemies list of 60 people – which includes Joe Biden – and pledged to “fire the top ranks of the FBI and “prosecute leakers and journalists.” He argued that Hunter Biden is guilty of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), requiring foreign agents to disclose and register their relationship with a foreign actor. Individuals found guilty of violating FARA face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Bondi said – without evidence – that Hunter was involved in corruption relating to his business dealings in Ukraine and China. She reiterated in June that Hunter's laptop showed Joe Biden had ties to his son's business dealings, implying that both can and should be prosecuted.
According to Noem, Hunter’s gun-related convictions were "the least of all his crimes,” and that Joe Biden himself would also face exposure from evidence on his son's laptop and "future trials ... should be brought forward … and that Hunter, his father, other relatives…should all be held accountable.”
Others in Trump’s orbit have gone even further. Media personality Tucker Carlson said that after reviewing the contents of the infamous laptop, what Hunter was doing was “criminal.” Incoming deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller said that Hunter should “tell us every single thing [his] father did or go to jail.” And Steve Bannon, who was the chief political strategist in Trump’s first administration and is advising on key appointments in Trump’s second administration, wrote, "Hunter Biden is doing what he has done all his life – running and hiding from accountability...and hoping Daddy bails him out. The MAGA House [is] not going to let him hide, and they could care less about Daddy.”
Prison jumpsuits for the Bidens
President Trump himself has made no secret of wanting to go after the Bidens. In June 2023, after being indicted on federal charges related to mishandling classified documents, Trump said he would appoint a special prosecutor to indict Joe Biden "and the entire Biden crime family.” This fall, Trump circulated an image on Truth Social showing Hunter and Joe Biden in prison jumpsuits.
There is every reason to believe that Trump and his “MAGA retribution loyalists” would follow through on their threats. For starters, they could rehash old, debunked accusations related to Hunter’s work for a Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The unfounded claims by the GOP that Hunter’s father received financial payouts from Ukrainians have never yielded any evidence of wrongdoing. Zero. Neither have allegations about Hunter receiving illicit payments from China and the former Moscow mayor’s wife. But since “any good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich,” it is possible that Hunter could have been charged, convicted, and sentenced for a very long time on new “trumped-up” charges, pun intended.
Even without the new charges, Trump’s Department of Justice could have come up with creative ways to retaliate against Biden. Possibilities include house arrest, 24-hour monitoring, or even moving Hunter to a maximum-security prison “for his own protection,” where he would live in much worse conditions.
Joe Biden has already lost two of his four children. No parent could or would afford to risk this happening to his or her only surviving son, no matter the bad choices this child has made during his life – and Hunter surely has made many.
Trump doesn’t need a precedent
Critics of Biden’s actions claim that it gives Trump license to abuse the pardon power and further undermine the justice system.
Donald Trump needs no such permission or precedent.
During his first term, Trump issued 143 pardons and 94 commutations, including pardoning associates as a reward for not testifying against him, including Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, Roger Stone for obstruction of a congressional investigation, Paul Manafort for witness tampering and lobbying crimes, and Steve Bannon for defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in a “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding scheme. Not only did Trump pardon Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, but he also nominated him as US Ambassador to France.
And one of his first acts when he becomes president, according to Trump, will be to pardon and release hundreds of violent insurrectionists convicted of attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
How does this compare to what Joe Biden has done?
Protecting his son
Alexander Hamilton argued that bestowing the president with pardon power was the best way to exercise clemency swiftly, decisively, and with compassion to mitigate harsh punishments. Biden is not the first to pardon a relative –even Abraham Lincoln did so. In announcing the pardon, Biden said, “As much as I love my country, I love my son more. If you look into your own heart, I think you will admit that you would have done exactly what I did.”
I know I would. I think you would as well.
The writer is an American businessman and philanthropist of Russian descent. Numerous members of his family have suffered from political persecution in the Soviet Union, including two grandparents who perished in Stalin’s Gulags.