Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iran's judiciary says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 67 Palestinians were martyred in 24 hours in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyred in the Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kawnin
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone targets a car in the town of Kawnin
Naeini: If our national interests are attacked again, our response this time will be stronger and more destructive

Democrats criticize Biden for pardoning Hunter

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Dec 2024 20:34
4 Min Read

Some Democratic members of Congress called the ruling a setback in public faith in the government.

Listen
  • x
  • Democrats turn on Biden for Hunter pardon
    US President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden walk in downtown Nantucket Massachusetts on November 29, 2024. (AP)

Democratic congressmen have sharply criticized outgoing US President Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter, who was convicted of tax fraud and gun-related charges.

Biden signed an executive order pardoning his son Hunter on Sunday, citing his belief in the unfairness of the trial. President-elect Donald Trump blasted the pardon as an "abuse and miscarriage of justice." Biden had stated several times that he would never pardon his son for his offenses.

Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado announced his opposition on social media platform X, saying the decision puts "personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans' faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all."

Arizona congressman Greg Stanton said he respects the president but opposes the measure, saying Biden "got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers."

Greg Landsman of Ohio also called the ruling a setback to public faith in government.

The congressman stated, "As a father, I get it. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback."

According to Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, the move was "unwise."

New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman used the action to encourage Biden to grant mercy to others, including death row convicts, telling CNN, "Pardon the 40 people who are on death row right now to get them off of death row, number one."

Hunter Biden is the first child of a sitting US president to face criminal charges, charged with two counts of willful tax evasion, involving unpaid taxes exceeding $100,000 in 2017 and 2018.

Separately, he was charged and found guilty of illegally possessing a Colt pistol in 2018 while using illegal drugs, a violation that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Related News

Musk blasts Trump’s spending bill advanced by GOP-controlled Senate

Trump: Netanyahu trial threatens Gaza ceasefire, regional diplomacy

Biden killed faith in justice system by pardoning son: Johnson

According to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday, Biden has done nearly irrevocable harm to faith in the US judicial system by pardoning his son Hunter,

Hunter was being tried for cases related to tax evasion and the purchase of a firearm. However, his father said, "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other collision than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son."

The US president also said that the situation is "a miscarriage of justice."

Hunter was convicted earlier this year of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun, which is a felony, and has also pleaded guilty in a separate tax evasion trial. 

Johnson blasted Biden on X writing how "Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it," adding that real change "cannot begin soon enough."

President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes. But last night he suddenly granted a “Full and Unconditional Pardon” for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!

Trust in our justice system has been almost…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 2, 2024

Biden’s decision to pardon his son amounts to an acknowledgment of his son’s criminal conduct, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene pointed out on Monday.

"This pardon is Joe Biden’s admission that Hunter is a criminal," Greene wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

She lamented the fact that "Hunter Biden broke gun laws, he broke the FARA Act, and worst of all, he broke the Mann Act by sex trafficking women across the country."

The Republican congresswoman further accused Biden of being "a liar and a hypocrite," saying that while Biden attempted to imprison President-elect Donald Trump’s sons, he has chosen to pardon his own, "even though he’s a convict."

Hunter Biden broke gun laws, he broke the FARA Act, and worst of all, he broke the Mann Act by sex trafficking women across the country.

This pardon is Joe Biden’s admission that Hunter is a criminal.

Biden tried to throw President Trump’s sons in jail, but he lets his son off… pic.twitter.com/QoV3lqfMFe

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 2, 2024

  • United States
  • US President Joe Biden
  • Joe Biden
  • Hunter Biden
  • Democratic Party
  • Republican Party

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
In this June, 12, 2021, file photo, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran.
Politics

Iran strategically foiled Israeli-US scheme, Advisor Shamkhani says

Sheikh Naim
MENA

Let no one think they can subjugate Hezbollah: Sheikh Qassem

Screengrab from a video published by the al-Qassam Brigades shows confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video of deadly ambush with Israeli forces in Gaza

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS