US presidents traditionally grant pardons when leaving office, but Joe Biden’s granting of a “full and unconditional” pardon to his son Hunter is a rare example involving a family member.
Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger, who had served time in prison on drug charges in 1985, on January 20, 2001, his last day in office.
And Donald Trump pardoned fellow real estate tycoon Charles Kushner, whose son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, at the end of his first term in the White House.
Now President-elect Trump on Saturday nominated Kushner, 70, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions, to be the next US ambassador to France.
Kushner, who served 14 months in prison, admitted that he hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, who was cooperating in a campaign finance investigation, and sent a videotape of the encounter to his sister.
Hunter Biden, who has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, is the first child of a sitting president to be pardoned.
His father, who is leaving office on Jan. 20, had repeatedly said he would not pardon his son — but announced the move on Sunday, claiming Hunter was “selectively and unfairly prosecuted.” Was gone.”
Biden said, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have struggled with it, I also recognize that raw politics has infected the process and led to obstruction of justice.”
The president said, “No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s case can come to any other conclusion than that Hunter was singled out simply because he is my son – and that is wrong.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion in September and faces up to 17 years in prison. He risked spending 25 years in prison for a serious gun charge, but did not expect to receive such a severe sentence in any case.
Presidents have also used their constitutionally mandated pardon powers on close friends and political associates over the years.
One of the most controversial pardons in recent years was the pardon granted to former President Richard Nixon by his successor in the White House, Gerald Ford.
Ford, on September 8, 1974, granted a “full and unconditional” pardon to Nixon, who was facing possible prosecution over the Watergate scandal.
Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime — falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star — but he won’t be able to pardon himself because the case is state, not federal. .
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