First son Hunter Biden said Sunday after his father, President Joe Biden, pardoned him that he has “taken responsibility” for his mistakes that “have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political purposes.”
Hunter Biden, 54, was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year — he was first found guilty of three counts of federal weapons violations in June and pleaded guilty in September in a separate tax case.
“I have taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that were exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political purposes,” Hunter Biden said in a statement to Fox News . “Despite all this, I have maintained my sobriety for over five years thanks to my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends.”
“In the throes of my addiction, I have squandered many opportunities and benefits,” he continued. “During recovery, we can have the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the grace that has been extended to us. I will never take for granted the grace given to me today and will dedicate life to it. I have begun again to help those who are still sick and suffering.”
BIDEN GIVEN SON HUNTERS BIDEN BEFORE EXIT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware on June 3, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The president’s pardon policy for his son, announced by the White House on Sunday evening, applies to crimes against the US that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed” from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Department of Justice’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be selectively and unjustly prosecuted.”
The outgoing chairman also argued that his son was “treated differently” in his criminal cases.
“Without aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases or purchasing a gun as a straw buyer, people are almost never charged with a misdemeanor charge solely because of the way they filled out a gun form,” the statement said. “Those who paid their taxes late due to serious addictions, but then paid them back with interest and penalties, typically receive non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
President Biden went on to say that the cases against his son were solely a result of Republicans’ opposition to him and his 2020 election victory against newly elected President Donald Trump.
“The charges in his cases only came about after some of my political opponents in Congress incited them to attack me and oppose my election,” the president said. “Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal negotiated by the Justice Department unraveled in court — with some of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for putting political pressure on the trial. Had the plea deal stood, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution to Hunter’s cases.”
BIDEN WILL NOT GIVE HUNTER, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS, BUT CRITICS ARE NOT SO SURE
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden embrace on stage at the end of the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out solely because he is my son – and that is wrong,” he continued. “An attempt has been made to break Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of persistent assaults and selective prosecution. By breaking Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason to do that. believe it will stop here.
The president also blamed “rough politics” for the charges against his son.
“Throughout my career, I have followed a simple principle: Just tell the American people the truth,” he said. “They will be honest. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I struggled with this, I also believe that raw politics infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in continuing this to delay even further.”
He concluded, “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”
A court document obtained by Fox News showed that Hunter Biden signed his name to a legal acknowledgment of the pardon policy.
President Biden’s decision to pardon his son differs from multiple statements he made to the media last summer in which he claimed he would not forgive the first son.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, attends an event honoring the 2024 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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In the gun case, Hunter Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement regarding information to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Prosecutors specifically tried to prove he lied on a federal firearms form in October 2018, when he checked a “No” box when asked if he was an unlawful substance user or addicted to controlled substances.
The other trial dealt with three tax misdemeanors and six tax misdemeanors for failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to get underway in Los Angeles federal court, Hunter Biden has entered a guilty plea.
Trump said earlier during the campaign that he would consider pardoning Hunter Biden.
