OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is accusing President Joe Biden of “irreparably” harming the American legal system by giving his son, Hunter Biden, a blanket pardon.
“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 irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it. Real reform cannot begin soon enough!” Johnson said in a statement on Monday.
The New York Post reported that Hunter, 54, is no longer facing sentencing for separate federal gun and tax evasion cases scheduled for later this month.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to nine counts related to evading $1.4 million in taxes and was convicted in June on three federal gun charges for possessing a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine.
Joe Biden asserted on Sunday that his son was “selectively and unfairly prosecuted” and issued a comprehensive pardon covering any offenses committed between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024. He initially pledged that he would not pardon his son.
Some Democrats ripped Biden over the pardon.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis blasted the lame-duck decision and accused the chief of his party of putting “family ahead of the country.”
“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Polis wrote on the X platform. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
Republicans, naturally, also piled on.
“Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), whose investigators have uncovered a wealth of evidence to support his accusation over the past two years, said on X.
“Not only has he falsely claimed that he never met with his son’s foreign business associates and that his son did nothing wrong, but he also lied when he said he would not pardon Hunter Biden,” he continued.
“The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people. It’s unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability,” he added.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 91, who served with Biden in the Senate for decades, also expressed frustration.
“‘I’m shocked Pres Biden pardoned his son Hunter bc he said many many times he wouldn’t & I believed him Shame on me,” he wrote.
President-elect Donald Trump signaled plans to issue mass pardons for individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and vowed to restructure the “Democrat-controlled” Department of Justice.
Trump made these remarks just over an hour after President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Several people arrested on charges nearly four years ago are being held without bond and still do not have court dates, which appears to be an obvious violation of the Sixth Amendment’s right to a speedy trial, among other guarantees.
Trump, who regained the White House last month, announced plans to pardon more than 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot—covering both those awaiting trial and those already convicted—during his campaign. This declaration came while Congress was in the midst of certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election over Trump.
