A turnaround that was not expected. American President Joe Biden announced this Sunday, December 1, the pardon of his son Hunter who had been found guilty of tax evasion and illegal possession of weapons in recent months by the courts. The epilogue of an affair which affected the mandate of the 46th President of the United States from start to finish.
What was Hunter Biden accused of?
This former lawyer and businessman, now converted to painting, was notably faced with one count of tax evasion and two counts of false declarations for not having paid 1.4 million dollars in taxes over the last ten years. The first echoes of the proceedings against Hunter Biden date back to December 2020, a month after the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States. The Democratic leader was not even in the White House yet when he had to face this controversy.
The president's second son, aged 54, was also prosecuted for illegal possession of a firearm, after having lied about his drug consumption by purchasing a Colt Cobra type revolver in a gun store.
Was he found guilty?
Yes, Hunter Biden was found guilty in both cases involving him. He was convicted in June 2024 of illegal possession of a firearm while using crack cocaine, but also pleaded guilty to tax evasion when a hearing for the case was held in September. He thus avoided a second trial and the sentence was reserved until December 16. Until then, he risked 25 years in prison for these facts.
What does this decision by Joe Biden change?
As in France, the American president has the right to pardon. But across the Atlantic, it is very common for the tenant of the White House to use it at the end of his mandate with regard to numerous people convicted of crimes. The president-elect who succeeds him, in this case Donald Trump, cannot reverse this decision.
Hunter Biden will therefore not be convicted for the acts for which he is being prosecuted and no longer risks being imprisoned. After being found guilty, Joe Biden's youngest son was to receive his sentence during hearings on December 12 and 16. They will probably be canceled by the judges, or will be held and conclude that the procedure is null and void.
The pardon granted by the father to his son is also very broad since it covers tax crimes and crimes related to firearms, as well as all potential federal crimes that Hunter Biden could have committed “between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024. This allows the 54-year-old ex-lawyer to no longer risk prosecution over his tenure on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and most of his other foreign activities, including in China. Donald Trump had been particularly meticulous with regard to these functions and had not hidden his wish to pursue Hunter Biden.
Why is this a surprise?
Since coming to power in January 2021, Joe Biden has always stated that he would not grant a presidential pardon to his son. He wanted to mark his difference with Donald Trump, by recalling the intangibility of court decisions. His guiding principle had not changed one iota until now: he refused to use the “extraordinary” powers of the presidential office for the benefit of his family.
After Hunter Biden's conviction for illegal possession of weapons in June, he agreed with the court's decision: “I stand by the jury's decision. I will do it and I will not pardon him.” As recently as September, the American president once again stood firm on his positions when his son had just pleaded guilty in the tax fraud case.
He justified his change of heart in his grace: “I believe in the judicial system, but the more I think about it, the more I think that politics came to interfere in this matter and that it led to a judicial error” .
Is this a first?
No, Joe Biden is not the first American president to use his right to pardon a member of his family. Before leaving the White House in 2001, Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother convicted of cocaine possession in 1985 in particular. More recently, Donald Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law convicted of tax fraud, Charles Kushner. He has also just appointed him ambassador of the United States to France.
