WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, marking a reversal as he prepares to leave office in just over a month.
Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement. “I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
Hunter Biden was set to face sentencing on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. He also is set to be sentenced on December 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 added.
The pardon is expected to cover both his gun charges conviction and his guilty plea.
NBC News was the first to report the news of President Biden pardoning his son, Hunter.
Biden also said his political opponents were trying to “break” him by going after Hunter.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden said in his statement. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
The decision comes after Biden said for months that he would not issue a pardon for his son.
“I will not pardon him,” he said in June after a jury found Hunter Biden guilty on three federal gun charges.
However, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions about the matter say President Biden has discussed pardoning his son with some of his closest aides.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last month that Biden’s position has not changed.
“We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is ‘no,’” she said.
The 12 counts Hunter Biden is convicted of or has pleaded guilty to carry a maximum prison sentence of 42 years.
