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
Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza: The total number of Palestinians killed due to famine and malnutrition has risen to 313, including 119 children
Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip: 10 people, including two children, have died of starvation in the past 24 hours
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: US envoy Tom Barrack cancels his visit to Tyre and al-Khiam amid popular protests
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces carried out an explosion in the southern border town of Kfar Kila
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.

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

House Democrats urge Rubio to admit injured Gaza kids after visa halt

Popular protests compel US delegation to cancel tour in Tyre, al-Khiam

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

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

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