President Biden signed a pardon for his son Hunter Sunday after the younger Biden was convicted of federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges earlier this year, the outgoing Democrat announced.
Biden, 82, claimed he was taking the controversial action after he watched his son being “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
The about-face comes after the president previously claimed he would not offer a pardon or clemency for Hunter, 54.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to nine counts tied to bilking Americans of $1.4 million in taxes and was found guilty of three federal gun charges in June.
“Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” Biden said in a statement.
“Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
The outgoing Democratic commander in chief argued his son “was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.”
“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here,” Biden said. “Enough is enough.”
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