I'm not celebrating the Hunter Biden pardon.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

I'm guessing this is an unpopular opinion on DU, but I don't see President Biden pardoning Hunter Biden as something to celebrate. I think it's a complicated issue, with arguments to both support and oppose the pardon. In terms of fairness and justice, I can see the pardon as maybe a necessary if unpleasant act brought on by a politicized prosecution, but also a case of the privileged getting away with something. In terms of politics, for Democrats, the benefits are basically non-existent, and the costs could be fairly large.

A lot of things can be true at the same time:

* Yes, it is within a president's powers to pardon anyone for any federal crimes.

* Yes, Hunter Biden would very likely not have been prosecuted if he were not Joe Biden's son.

* Yes, Donald Trump has many worse things with regard to pardons, and will likely do many more worse things in the future.

* Yes-- and to me this is the strongest argument-- most parents would do whatever they can to protect their children.

So to leave Hunter Biden in jeopardy and the whims of the incoming Trump administration seems somehow inappropriate. But also...

* Hunter Biden did actually commit the crimes, and was convicted of them in a jury trial, even if they are rarely prosecuted to the extent that he was.

* He is hardly the only person who has been unfairly prosecuted by the federal government. There are almost certainly a fair number of people serving time who are actually innocent.

* President Biden promised multiple times, including after the election, that he would not pardon his son. When he did so, we pointed to that and argued that this made our party a better guardian of equal justice under law.

* Donald Trump's level of corruption should not be a standard for any acceptable behavior. Saying that this is okay because Trump does it too is a terrible justification for any behavior.

So a president pardoning his son of crimes for which he was found guilty isn't great either.

All of which makes me think there was no clear right or wrong answer here.

So it really surprises me to see such celebration. What did we really accomplish here? This is the kind of reaction I'd expect if we passed some major liberal legislation. Here, the only people really better off are Hunter Biden and those who love him, and I'm happy for them. It must be a big relief. But like it or not, a lot of people are going to look at this and say-- look, they're all the same. There's one standard for those with connections, and another for people like me. If we ever want to point out how corrupt Trump is, they'll point to this and say-- you do it too. So the party as a whole will take the hit.

[Deuxcents]

1. It's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't with President Biden.

Doing the right thing isn’t always easy or popular but no one has been more honorable than President Biden. Jmo

[Lulu KC]

3. Well said.

He'll never hear the end of it, but a true regret would be handing his son over to DT and his goons.

[Dem4life1234]

14. Any parent who wouldn't

Is a sick and disgusting parent!

I would absolutely pardon my son in that situation.

They act like he was some violent murderer.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. JoeB gave EVERYTHING he had to this country for a loooong time - I applaud his decision. If it had been

an abuse of power maybe but considering the abuse his son took on the world stage for marginal wrongdoing it's FINE by me.

[BOSSHOG]

4. Just call me Pro Life

President B was saving his son’s life with the pardon. And I hope he considers others.

Comparison of how corrupt trump is?

One pardon = 34 felony convictions, serial liar, rapist, moral degenerate, con man, failed business man. Stealer of classified material. Leader of an insurrection. Dad bought him a deferment from military service. I’m tired, I gotta stop.

[BannonsLiver]

5. They've already said that and worse. For years now.

[Bettie]

6. So, you'd have preferred that Hunter BIden

die in prison, to pass some kind of purity test?

Biden owes nothing to the party at this point, he was driven out by a "donors" who wanted something else, and it was done in the most disrespectful way possible.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

8. That's not what I said, at all.

I don't agree, however, that it's okay for Biden to spit on the party on the way out.

[Lunabell]

17. Spit on the party?

That is absurd.

[Dem4life1234]

19. What are you talking about?

[Hekate]

23. That is exactly what you said, because Hunter would have died in prison. Every signal from Trump said that.

[Dem4life1234]

18. I will never forgot their disrespect of this great man

Instead of rallying behind him from a debate performance.

They do this shit because he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth like the bloated buffoon.
That's what this is about.


This wonderful man that cleaned up the mess of that orange destroyer in chief.

How dare they?

I will forever love our POTUS, he is up there with one of the greatest of all time. He has nothing to prove!

[XanaDUer2]

38. I feel this

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

58. " he was driven out by a "donors" no, he was driven out by his performance.

[niyad]

63. Ate you talking about President Biden's performance?

[Cuthbert Allgood]

66. There are a LOT of people that are going to die in prison

who committed no crime or are there for some bullshit possession charge. And Biden made a big deal about pardoning them last year but since he did, exactly ZERO people in jail for possession of marijuana have been released. And we also specifically have Leonard Peltier who will undoubtedly die in prison after a complete sham of a trial.

So, yeah, Biden can do what he wants, but don't be shocked when people aren't happy with the nepo baby aspect of the whole pardon.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. You said so well

my feelings on this. As a father, I completely get where the President is coming from. At the same time, my opinion of Hunter has always been that he’s a scumbag who has gotten away with stuff all his life, so of course he thought it was ok to not pay his taxes and lie on a gun form.

So, while I get why the President pardoned him - and I probably would have done the same thing - I don’t think it’s anything to celebrate.

[delisen]

12. A president who bragged he can kill a man on 5th Ave

and get away with it, would have no problem having a federal prisoner killed to punish his father. This is now the country in which we live.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

30. You're entitled to your opinion

as I am to mine .

[wnylib]

61. Suit yourself. I am delighted that Biden pardoned Hunter.

I am celebrating Biden's wisdom and Hunter's many years of recovery and straightening out his life.

You see a privileged "scumbag." I see a guy who went through early life trauma in losing his mother and sister. When Hunter later lost his brother to cancer, that left Hunter as the sole survivor of the accident.

If you envy Hunter his "privilege," then may you be blessed with the same privilege and trauma that came with it.

[niyad]

62. You forgot to add that he and his brother were both seriously injured

in that crash. Who knows what lasting damage it may have done both physically, as well as emotionally.

[niyad]

67. I am truly sorry for whatever trauma you have gone through that makes

your posts sound so angry about Hunter, as though he had personally and deliberately caused you harm. Whatever it was, I truly do wish you healing and peace.

[Blues Heron]

9. I like that its pissing off the magats

[jimfields33]

42. Don't worry. It will be short lived when the J-6

People get pardoned January 20th. They will holler with glee. Republicans are Hypocrite's!

[Blues Heron]

47. got that right!

[LeftInTX]

10. I don't "celebrate" it. He did the right thing.

But it certainly isn't some kind of "victory".

[kacekwl]

11. If Hunter was not

"Privileged" he would have been issued a fine for the gun charge and have to pay his revised tax bill which he did. Years of bullshit investigation and republican outrage is the ONLY thing political here. The time and resources that should have been focused on trump his children and children in law who all got off Scott free so save me the moral outrage please.

[tritsofme]

13. I think the reaction by some has been rather silly, but I don't see any problem with Biden taking this action

There is nothing Trump will or will not do based on this pardon.

I think a lot of these whining media folks are just pissed that Joe cancelled one of their storylines for next year.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

35. The screeching of Trump and his minions over this pardon

Tells me that death was exactly the plan for Hunter.
On some gray morning he'd be found hanging in his cell.

[Midwestern Democrat]

75. I don't really have a problem with the pardon (although I don't like "blanket pardons"), but I can't applaud Biden for

lying about it before the election and saying he wouldn't do it - I'm just not that jaded yet (if I were that jaded, I'd probably just check out of politics).

[Basso8vb]

15. Your concern is noted.

You also played the classic "straw man argument" by falsely asserting that anyone here is "celebrating" the pardon.

I, like many here, think it was the right thing to do for a gross miscarriage of justice.

[Quiet Em]

16. Hunter was over prosecuted because he was President Biden's son

He should have faced some penalty, but sentenced to prison was far too much for the crime. No other person except Hunter has faced such penalties.

[SWBTATTReg]

32. Yes! And how many people do we hear about that had guns in their possession, when they shouldn't? I don't hear

of them getting thrown forever into jail or the like, maybe whapped w/ a fine, or convicted of another lesser crime such as trespassing or something similar. It happens all of the time, prosecutors want to close out things and not have them go on and on. This happens everywhere. And the mere mention of Biden Jr. name, ensured that he wouldn't get a fair trial, republicans and other riffraff would have screamed and yelled, no matter what.

And this is a nothing burger, relative to the millions of things going on in this Country, that need action, such as those who were convicted of being a rapist, but not get sentenced yet...ring a bell, eh? When will tRUMP ever be sentenced for this?

[KT2000]

20. Would he have been investigated

and charged if he was not Biden's son?
Would they have shown nude pictures of him in the House?
Would they have tried to destroy Hunter if they were not trying to cover-up for trump's attempt to get dirt from Zelinsky?

[Dem4life1234]

22. This!

Had he been a MAGAt, they would not have went after him!

I am happy he pardoned his son, it was a fuck you to the MAGAts .

Dems need to fall in line and learn when to shut up.

[Lunabell]

21. Well, that certainly is your opinion.

[Frasier Balzov]

24. Having principles means calling yourself out.

Calling yourself out when you violate them.

However, I never expected Joe to NOT pardon Hunter.

Exercise of Presidential powers is being re-calibrated right now thanks to Trump and SCOTUS.

The Biden Family is entitled to benefit from all that "going wild" re-calibrating with at least as much relief as a pardon can give them.

[Cha]

25. lol Of Course not.

[Think. Again.]

26. Wow, you seemed to have gone out of your way to create talking points.

Or did you find them pre-written on some kind of other website?

Edit to add: (Just my opinion, of course.)

[SocialDemocrat61]

28. Republican Underground maybe?

[Montauk6]

51. Free Republic is dead???

I THOUGHT there was a reason why you don't hear about Freepers much these days.

[Dem4life1234]

29. It's like of all the things to whine about

It's this topic?

We have a whole debaucherous liar thief in chief coming back to the office, destroy the country, and person wants to harp about Biden, a president who is leaving office, pardoning his son who was harassed simply because he was a Dem kid? Person should be outraged about that! I just don't get it. If there was an unrec button I would use it.

[SWBTATTReg]

34. Really!!! Some people I guess don't have enough on their plate to chat about, being that the big thing now is

what the hell tRUMP going to do while in the first days of his presidency? Issue a blanket arrest warrant for every immigrant, legal or not? Unilaterally increase tariffs by himself (how does this work? I thought that the American people had a right to vote on any taxation issues, and not let one thug (opps, 'president') increase all of our fees/taxes.

[VegasVet]

27. Thanks. Your concern is noted.

[Scrivener7]

31. Good to know. I won't invite you to my party.

[Joinfortmill]

33. Joe took the high road until they dug a ditch

and threw Hunter in it. He did the right thing.

[Opbrg]

36. Your points are valid but

he did what any loving father who had the power to save their son would do. If he would have left him in the hands of Trump's DOJ it would have been like feeding him to the wolves.

[Think. Again.]

40. I disagree, a lot of the talking points are absolutely not valid.

[MichMan]

37. I expected Hunter to be pardoned

I didn't believe Joe for a minute when he promised he wouldn't. Didn't want to hurt the chances of re election.

[appmanga]

39. Are you kidding?

Do you have any idea what prison is? Do you have any idea what a corrupt government can do with someone in custody? Going to prison is tough enough, and dangerous enough, if you're Ed Nobody.

You obviously think we're still in normal times. We're not. For a man who's already lost two children, risking his third just so he wouldn't be seen as a hypocrite as we see an archcriminal convicted felon getting ready to take power in this country, letting his son go to a very dangerous place is too high a price. Fuck if it doesn't look great; this is life and death stuff.

Keep believing what's getting ready to happen will be just a slight deviation from what came before. The prospective nominee to run the FBI literally created an enemies list. You probably think the audits McCabe and Comey went through the last time Trump controlled the IRS were unfortunate coincidences.

I've given this ridiculousness more time than it deserved.

[Shermann]

41. Pardon power can be used to right wrongs

Our system of justice leans heavily in the favor of the accused, however it still gets it wrong sometimes. There are avenues to correct these wrongs, and one of those avenues is the pardon. I see this as something to celebrate when it is used as a force for good.

[Think. Again.]

45. It wasn't the justice system that persecuted Hunter beyond any reasonable...

...response to his "crimes", it was the rightwing nazis that did that.

I like a President that protects American citizens from continued political abuse no matter who they are.

[Paladin]

43. "Look, they're all the same."

Fuck that shit. There most certainly is a "right answer" here; Joe Biden provided it. If you're that anxious to find equivalency between Biden and trump, I honestly have to wonder why you're spending any time here at DU.

[Cha]

73. Mahalo, Paladin.

[Paladin]

74. Many thanks, Cha. (nt)

[Cirsium]

44. What is important about this?

President Biden may have changed his mind about pardoning his son because of the nature of the political situation in the country, because he recognizes that these are extraordinary times, that the MAGA movement is an existential threat and that the old rules do not apply anymore.

I agree that these are extraordinary times, that the MAGA movement is an existential threat and that the old rules do not apply anymore. Too bad that we haven't seen that realization applied by the party leadership more broadly than merely applauding and defending one man pardoning his son. Who pardons the rest of us? It reminds me of the headlines about Harris weighing her options and planning her next career moves. What about options for the rest of us?

[LeftInTX]

55. If Biden pardons everyone, then he will be pardoning

literally everyone. 200,000,000 plus people.

It would take forever to go through millions of people's records to determine if they were rethugs or whatever.

[JustAnotherGen]

46. They already do

The Magats and the M$M:

If we ever want to point out how corrupt Trump is, they'll point to this and say-- you do it too. So the party as a whole will take the hit.

Also we have pointed out the evil and corruption that emanates from that evil thing and he just got rehired with the blessing of the media.

That's not a reason to not do something.

[mzmolly]

48. I'll celebrate for you.

[Think. Again.]

52. And I'll celebrate with you!

[mzmolly]

54. :D

[RandomNumbers]

53. It was only necessary because the American people sent the Felon Rapist back to the WH.

So in that sense, it is nothing to celebrate.

Given that reality, I think it was the right thing and am glad he did it.

[chowder66]

56. The voters forced his hand by electing a rapist and felon. Kind of like they forced Biden out because they don't pay

attention. If only the media breathlessly reported on his achievements we might never, ever fucking be here.

Tough shit. It's done. It's soon to be the-orange-pig-show, injected into the veins of most people.

[Quanta]

57. Stop Being Weak

If we always take the high road while they are able to do whatever to whomever whenever, we will always be fighting with one hand tied behind our backs. Personally, I hope Joe pardons MORE people. Anybody that would be tormented by Trump from our side or allies (yes, even including Ms. Cheney) should be pre-emptively pardoned, imho. If it's good for the goose it's good for the gander.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

59. Maybe it is because of the extreme appointments. nt

[ecstatic]

60. I can't speak for anyone else, but it's not a "celebration" for me. It's correcting a wrong

and I fully understand that there are a million other wrongs that need to be corrected for people without power or influence. But if we just stick with one case at a time--what happened under garland's watch was wrong. Plain and simple. Based on the entire context of what occurred and why, I would have been disgusted with President Biden had he not pardoned his son.

[Meowmee]

64. I am glad he did it

"We" did not accomplish it, he decided to do it, and imo it was the right decision. "They" will say all of those things anyway, as they always do.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

65. Because "the Reps got owned" just like they delight in "Owning" us

[lees1975]

68. I will applaud and celebrate this decision.

Good for him and good for his family. He has sent a message that tells me he recognizes the message sent by the voters in this election, that they do not value equal justice under the law. It's not possible to be a guardian of something that no longer exists. Republicans are counting on Democrats to hold to the antiquated protocols of government, something akin to the old adage of bringing a knife to a gunfight, so that they can counter every measure we make that has a remote chance of success. The Supreme Court has even approved, in constitutional and legal terms, his executive decision as president with their protection of his immunity.

President Biden is merely acquiescing to the desires of the slim majority of voters who supported Trump, who prefer a corrupt country favoring the rich and powerful over equal justice under law. Criticizing him for doing this is hypocritical and just plain wrong.

[Ms. Toad]

69. It was a necessary evil. Just because it was necessary does not diminish its nature.

The prosecution of Biden was politically motivated. Had his father not been president, he wouldn't have been prosecuted (or would have been prosecuted for more minimal crimes). But there are people in prison who were prosecuted (or found guilty) for no reason but race, inability to hire competent counsel, etc. Had the prosecution/conviction simply been unfair, the pardon would not have been necessary - especially such a sweeping pardon that is nearly unprecedented.

A pre-emptive pardon, which gives Hunter (or anyone) immunity for all violations of federal law for a certain period of time is no better than the presidential immunity the Supreme Court granted.

But Trump was elected, and has an enemies list. Hunter is on it simply because of who his father is. Not only would he be in prison for the crimes for which he was already convicted, but Trump would not have stopped there. These are not normal times. Had Harris been elected, I would be on the anti-pardon bandwagon. But she was not - and Biden is right to protect anyone he can (especially anyone not overtly political, including his son) from political retribution by Trump and his goons.

[GoodRaisin]

70. I am.

I fully expected it, in fact, I consider it what any normal father would do.

[Hassler]

71. Six months ago after a bad debate, Biden was a

Feeble, probably senile old man. So how can he now be responsible for his actions?

[ForgedCrank]

72. Oh boy,

you're gonna get it now.

[RandySF]

76. Just imagine Hunter at the mercy of MAGA-loving prison guards.

[claudette]

77. Oh, Lordy

another one who doesn't want to congratulate President Biden for loving his son so much that he sacrificed himself to save his only living son from the ravages of a Dump administration's DOJ.

I just don't get it. What don't people understand what Dumpy's DOJ would have done to this man who has turned his life around after being hounded by magats.

Yes I CELEBRATE for Biden giving Dump and his magats the "Fickle Finger of Fate" award!

[Hotler]

78. I'm celebrating it because a democrat stop playing gentlemanly politics for a brief moment.

And gave the fascist a dose of their own playbook. And the world did not come to a screeching halt.

[samnsara]

80. im behind Joes decision 1000%

..why offer up his own son to the King?

let trump go find his own war prize.



fuck him