A father pardons his son. The intimate, justice and politics merge. The father, Joe Biden, wanted to be an exemplary president, respecting the rule of law. Sunday 1is December, confirming the twilight atmosphere of this end of mandate, the Democrat announced that he was granting a pardon “full and unconditional” to Hunter Biden, protecting him from all current and future legal proceedings.
This decision, made public in a press release just before Joe Biden flew to Angola aboard Air Force One, contradicts the president's own commitment not to use this remedy for the benefit of his son, threatened with prison in two cases.
On December 12, Hunter Biden, 54, was to hear the sentence against him after his conviction in June by a federal jury in Delaware for purchasing and possessing a firearm in 2018, while he was addicted to drug and had lied about it on the acquisition form. On December 16, Hunter Biden was also due to know his sentence after pleading guilty in September to tax fraud in California. Potentially, these convictions could earn him several years in prison. The judges are now expected to close both cases.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers United States: after the conviction of Hunter Biden for an illegal acquisition of a firearm, the Biden camp shows its respect for justice
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“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the Justice Department's decision-making process, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be so brutally prosecuted. selective and unfair”, explained Joe Biden in a press release on Sunday evening. Both cases were, however, investigated by a special prosecutor, David Weiss, whose status guaranteed autonomy. During the progress of the procedures, the White House wanted to give constant guarantees of separation between the president and the judiciary, in accordance with the practice in sensitive cases since the Watergate scandal, which forced Richard Nixon to resign.
On the sidelines of the summit of G7 countries in June, Joe Biden was questioned about the conviction of his son in Delaware. “I said I would abide by the jury’s decision. I will do this. And I won't pardon him. »
Joe Biden denounces Republican relentlessness against his son
Sudden turnaround on Sunday. And now Joe Biden is banking on public empathy. “I hope that Americans will understand why a father and a president come to such a decision. » For years, Joe Biden and his wife Jill have experienced Hunter's addictions and his psychological fragility as a personal trauma, particularly since the death of Beau Biden, the president's eldest and beloved son, from brain cancer in 2015.
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