Biden the Father vs. Biden the President

I understand why Joe Biden pardoned Hunter. But I still think he shouldn't have.

Photo by Bohdan Komarivskyi on Unsplash

On Sunday night, Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter for crimes Hunter has already been convicted of, and for any crimes he may have committed in the decade from 2014 to 2024. That includes his conviction on gun charges and tax evasion. As Donald Trump ascends into office and his lackeys seek to extract revenge on perceived enemies, Biden has done what he can to ensure that his son is safe from prosecution.

Two things are true here: Biden’s decision to pardon his son, who was actually unjustly targeted by Biden’s political opponents, is entirely understandable from the view of a protective father who rightly fears his last surviving son will be targeted by an unhinged and unfettered Trump administration. And Biden’s decision to pardon his son sets a terrible precedent and gives Trumpists more ammunition to argue that the swamp is swampy, that everyone in power behaves badly, and that Trump really isn’t so unusual.

It's impossible to criticize any president’s pardons without fielding an array of what-abouts: What about Donald Trump pardoning his political allies, including many men who did commit serious crimes? So let’s stipulate: Many of Trump’s more than 200 pardons were abhorrent. He used his pardon power to reward those who had remained loyal to him, including advisors and members of his campaign advisors (Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon) and conservative media figures (Dinesh D’Souza, Bernie Kerik). This was transparent corruption. And it’s stunning that so many people in Trump’s political apparatus were convicted of crimes in the first place; he has indeed surrounded himself with some of the worst, least ethical people in the nation.

Trump has also suggested that he will pardon the many January 6^th rioters in an overt demonstration of valuing loyalty over American democracy. He appointed one son-in-law’s father, also a convicted criminal who he pardoned during his presidency, to be ambassador to France. He appointed another to be Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. His cabinet appointments and staffing picks so far have been shocking: He’s filling the government with wholly unqualified loyalists who aren’t just the Trump version of nepo babies, but who are legitimately dangerous. His own children are avid self-dealers, as are their spouses: his son-in-law Jared Kushner enjoyed a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia, while his daughter-in-law Lara Trump is now head of the Republican National Committee.

So let’s be clear: Trump is far worse than Biden when it comes to enriching himself and his children, engaging in nepotism, pardoning criminals for whom he has personal affection or seeks to reward, and generally engaging in corruption and nation-imperiling self-interested decision-making. An entire party apparatus now operates around him, allowing him to do just this. It will only get worse in a second Trump term.

And let’s also be clear that, while Trump and his followers persistently claim to be persecuted by their political enemies, Hunter Biden actually was the victim of a politically-motivated prosecution. One crime for which he was convicted – lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm by saying he wasn’t addicted to drugs when he was, in fact, addicted to drugs – is not exactly a rare act; it is, however, rare for people to be convicted for it. Hunter was prosecuted because he was Joe Biden’s son. That Joe Biden used his power to pardon Hunter is imminently understandable as both an act of a loving father and an act of a man fed up with doing the right thing as so many around him break the rules.

But that doesn’t justify Biden’s decision.