(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, the White House announced Sunday night.
Previously, Joe Biden had remained adamant that he would not pardon Hunter, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in September. He was also convicted in a separate criminal gun case in June.
In his clemency announcement, the president called his son’s treatment a “miscarriage of justice” and pointed to political motivation behind his son’s charges.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, 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,” Biden said in a statement.
Trump and other Republicans have for years attacked the Biden family as being criminally corrupt, with a particular focus on Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.
House Republicans sought to make Hunter Biden’s business a central part of its impeachment inquiry into President Biden. But their report failed to uncover a smoking gun, instead relying on largely debunked threads, disputed testimony, and circumstantial evidence that failed to directly tie any official action from President Biden to his family’s business dealings.
“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,” his statement continued. “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.”
Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced in December in both of the cases. The “full and unconditional pardon” will cover both his gun charges conviction and guilty plea.
Could Trump overturn Hunter Biden’s pardon?
No, President-elect Donald Trump cannot revoke an official act of clemency.
The power to pardon, outlined in the Constitution, gives the commander-in-chief “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
What was Hunter Biden found guilty of?
In June, a jury found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the gun application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally owning the gun for 11 days in 2018.
The prosecution stemmed from a seven-page form that would-be gun buyers must fill out when purchasing a weapon from a licensed gun business.
The form includes standard questions about things that would disqualify someone from legal gun ownership, like previous felony convictions, mental health problems or illegal drug use.
The jury in Wilmington, Delaware, deliberated for about three hours over two days.
Hunter Biden’s tax charges
Hunter Biden entered a guilty plea in September in his federal tax case, avoiding a trial altogether.
The tax trial involved charging Hunter Biden with a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions from foreign business entities.
Hunter Biden had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his taxes from 2016 to 2019. His attorneys argued he didn’t act “willfully” or with intent to break the law, citing his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
NewsNation’s Nancy Loo, Courtney Han, Urja Sinha and partner The Hill contributed to this report.