(Refiles to change to ‘plead’ in the main paragraph, from ‘plead’)
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted of making false statements during a gun background check and illegal possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly treated, prosecuted,” he said. in a statement released by the White House.
The White House has repeatedly said Biden would not pardon or commute the sentence of his son, a drug addict in treatment who has become a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out simply because he is my son,” Biden said.
Hunter Biden faced sentencing Wednesday on false statements and weapons charges. He pleaded guilty in September to federal charges that he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending on drugs, sex workers and luxury goods. He faced sentencing in that case on December 16.
“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that were used to publicly humiliate and embarrass me and my family for political sport,” Hunter Biden said in a statement Sunday, adding that he has remained sober for more than five year.
“In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages… I will never take for granted the pardon I received today and will dedicate the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
The president, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, said his opponents sought to crush Hunter through selective prosecution.
He said people were almost never brought to court on felony charges because of how they filled out the gun form, and said others who were late on their taxes due to addictions were paid back with interest and penalties because his son usually received “non-criminal solutions” for their cases.
“It’s clear that Hunter was treated differently. The charges in his cases came only after several of my political opponents in Congress encouraged them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said. “In trying to break Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe they’ll stop there. Enough is enough.”
Biden said he made the decision over the weekend. The president, his wife Jill Biden and their family, including Hunter, spent Thanksgiving in Nantucket, Massachusetts and returned to Washington on Saturday night.
While walking through the shops on Nantucket Friday afternoon, a supporter yelled at the president from across the street to pardon his son.
“Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but while I’ve been fighting this, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and when I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any longer. “, Biden said.
“I hope the American people will understand why a father and a president would make this decision.”
