President Biden Pardons Son Hunter Biden in Reversal of Previous Stance

President Joe Biden issued a full pardon for his son Hunter Biden on Sunday night, reversing his earlier statements that he would not use his executive authority to pardon or commute his son’s sentence.

"I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further," Biden said in a statement. "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."

Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced on Dec. 12 for federal gun charges and on Dec. 16 for federal tax evasion charges, to which he pleaded guilty in September. The pardon applies to all offenses Hunter Biden "committed or may have committed or taken part in" between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024, according to a White House statement.

A senior White House official told NBC News, the first to report the pardon, that Biden made the decision over the weekend and informed senior aides on Sunday. In his statement, Biden cited his son's addiction struggles and accused his political opponents of using Hunter Biden as a tool to attack him personally.

"No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong," Biden said. "In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Hunter Biden expressed gratitude for the pardon in a separate statement, acknowledging his past mistakes during his struggles with addiction. "I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends," he said. "I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering."

The pardon comes amid intense scrutiny of Hunter Biden's legal troubles, which Republicans have used to accuse the Biden administration of corruption. Hunter Biden’s legal issues include allegations of using corporate bank accounts for personal expenses, with some suggesting he received special treatment from the Justice Department. His June conviction on three federal gun charges marked the first criminal trial of a sitting president’s child.

Biden's decision marks a sharp shift from his previous statements. In June, he told reporters, “I will not pardon him,” after Hunter Biden’s conviction. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated this position as recently as last week, saying the president’s stance had not changed.

The president had reportedly discussed a potential pardon with close aides since Hunter Biden’s conviction in June. Two sources with knowledge of the discussions revealed Biden publicly denied the possibility of a pardon while privately leaving it on the table.

The pardon eliminates the potential for a maximum 42-year prison sentence from the combined 12 charges Hunter Biden faced. Although such maximum sentences are rarely imposed, the tax charges alone carried a possible 17-year sentence.

Republicans have criticized the pardon, with Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung calling it further proof of a weaponized justice system. "That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans," Cheung said.

The president's decision also followed advice from some legal experts, including former Obama White House counsel Neil Eggleston, who said the clemency power was within Biden’s authority. "The clemency power has few limitations and certainly would extend to a Hunter Biden pardon," Eggleston said.

Hunter Biden’s legal saga has been a lightning rod for partisan debate, with Republican-led investigations targeting both him and his father. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in August 2023 after a plea deal for Hunter Biden fell apart. Weiss’s office has not commented on the pardon.

The political implications of Biden’s decision may resonate beyond his presidency, especially as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to lead the Democratic ticket in the 2024 election following Biden's decision to step down from his re-election campaign earlier this year.