President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter has provoked anger from certain Democrats.
The move sparked a tidal wave of Republican condemnation on Sunday night, but by late Monday morning, a steady stream of Democrats had also expressed concern.
“As a father, I understand. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, this is a setback,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, wrote on X.
Hunter Biden’s broad pardon includes any and all crimes committed between 2014 and December of this year. It happened as he was facing potential jail time on other guns and tax allegations.
The 82-year-old president accused Republicans of weaponizing the legal system against his son, whom he claimed was “selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”
“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat from Arizona. “It was not a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was found guilty by a jury of his peers.
Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, also blasted the ruling.
“As a father, I understand [Biden’s] natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, but I am disappointed that he prioritized his family over the country.” This is a horrible precedent that might be abused by future Presidents and will unfortunately destroy his name,” Polis stated in a long statement.
“Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
However, several Democratic allies of the president resisted.
“Look at the underlying facts and usual DOJ practice, Governor,” former Attorney General Eric Holder, who worked with Biden during the Obama administration, said Polis on X.
In a second post, Holder stated, “No [US attorney] would have charged this case given the underlying facts.” After a 5-year investigation, the facts revealed only made that evident. Had his name been Joe Smith, the resolution would have been a decline. Pardon is justified.”
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., expressed “mixed feelings” over Biden’s pardon.
He, like Holder, argued that Hunter’s family name played a role in the indictments against him, but he was concerned that it would set a precedent that Republicans may exploit in the future.
“Even though I don’t think Hunter Biden would have been prosecuted under those circumstances, a pardon at this point will be used against, I think, Democrats who are pushing to defend the Department of Justice against politicizing it, which is certainly what President Trump plans to do,” Ivey told CNN on Monday, January 1.
“I understand that there was a tremendous desire to shield Hunter Biden from unfair prosecution. But this will be used against us when we try to stop the Trump administration’s abuses.”