On Sunday, President Joe Biden granted a pardon to his son, Hunter, just days prior to his impending sentencing related to distinct federal gun and tax issues, demonstrating a significant shift for the outgoing president.
“Since the moment I assumed office, I promised I would not meddle in the decisions of the Justice Department, and I have honored that pledge even while witnessing my son being targetted with selective and unjust prosecution,” Biden expressed in a statement.
The president alleged that his “political adversaries in Congress” were pursuing legal action against his son—who became the first first child of an incumbent president to face criminal conviction after being found guilty of firearms offenses back in June.
Biden, aged 82, has claimed multiple times that he did not intend to pardon his 54-year-old son, but altered that stance on Sunday evening, asserting that Hunter had been “treated unfairly” compared to others accused of similar offenses.
A White House source informed NBC News, which was the first to report on the matter before the formal announcement, that Biden chose to issue the pardon over the weekend. In the lead-up to this decision, Hunter, along with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and their child Beau, spent Thanksgiving with the president in Nantucket, according to various news outlets.
“No reasonable individual examining the circumstances of Hunter’s cases could conclude anything other than that he was unfairly singled out simply because he is my son – and that is unjust,” Biden commented.
The president, whose decision will keep Hunter from serving time in prison, referenced his son’s struggles with addiction to drugs and alcohol.
“There has been a concerted effort to undermine Hunter — who has maintained sobriety for five and a half years, even amidst relentless attacks and targeted prosecution,” Biden stated.
“In attempting to undermine Hunter, they’ve sought to undermine me as well — and there is no indication this will end here. Enough is enough.”
Biden’s proclamation granted his son a pardon covering all offenses he “committed or may have committed or participated in” during an approximate 11-year window from January 2014, prior to Hunter’s involvement with the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings—which Republicans claimed was a component of a Biden family “bribery scheme”—until December 2024.
In remarks shared with the Daily Beast, Hunter reflected on his five years of sobriety.
“I have acknowledged and accepted responsibility for my errors during the bleakest phases of my addiction – errors that have been manipulated to publicly disgrace and shame me and my family for political gain,” stated the president’s son.
While not explicitly naming his father, Hunter conveyed his gratitude for the pardon granted by the president.
The pardon was announced a day after Hunter’s defense team released a 52-page document titled “The Political Prosecutions of Hunter Biden” on Saturday—depicting the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a felony as a mere victim of circumstances.
In the white paper obtained by the Daily Beast, Hunter’s lawyers contend that he appears on President-elect Donald Trump’s “enemies list” and will likely encounter heightened scrutiny from federal prosecutors upon Trump taking office.
“The system designed to safeguard against abuses fell short and became tainted by political figures in this nation,” the document stated.
The special prosecutor who handled both of Hunter Biden’s cases, David Weiss, was appointed by Trump as the U.S. attorney for Delaware. However, Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, appointed Weiss to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation, ultimately leading to two separate convictions.
“The possibility that Trump will unleash his wrath on the Special Counsel prosecutors if they do not adopt a more aggressive stance towards Hunter undoubtedly places immense pressure on them to persist with their pursuit of Hunter,” the filing further explained.
The report from Hunter’s legal team firmly challenged the prosecution’s move to pursue these charges.
“Hunter was not a danger to public safety nor did he occupy a position in his father’s administration. There were no victims involved in the alleged gun or tax offenses he faced. Possessing a handgun for 11 days that was neither loaded nor utilized, along with a delayed tax filing and payment, should not constitute grounds for punishing Hunter simply for being a ‘Biden.’”
The president’s announcement on Sunday regarding the pardon seemingly echoed the reasoning posited by his son’s legal representatives.
“In the absence of aggravating circumstances such as criminal usage, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, individuals are almost never subjected to felony charges merely based on how they completed a gun application. Those who filed their taxes late due to serious addictions, yet subsequently paid them off with interest and penalties, typically receive non-criminal resolutions,” Biden stated.
Hunter was found guilty on federal gun charges in June and then entered a guilty plea regarding tax evasion in September.
The first son is set to receive sentencing in his gun case on December 12 in Delaware, where he is facing a maximum of 25 years in prison. His tax evasion sentencing in California is scheduled for December 16, with these charges carrying a potential sentence of 17 years.
Biden consistently stated that he had no intention to pardon his son, mentioning to ABC News’ David Muir in an interview that he would accept the verdict from his son’s trial. More recently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that a pardon was not an option during a press briefing on November 7—the day following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Throughout the election campaign, Trump employed rhetoric similar to that of Hunter Biden’s legal team—describing the prosecution as “political persecution.” Attorneys for the president-elect even suggested the possibility of a $100 million lawsuit against the Justice Department, claiming that the FBI’s 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents constituted an act of persecution.
However, Trump has recently adjusted his stance on Hunter, even indicating in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he might contemplate a pardon for the son of his former political adversary.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is now Trump’s nominee to lead the State Department, also formerly stated that Trump would refrain from using the Justice Department to target his political rivals.
In its early remarks concerning the pardon, Trump’s incoming administration directed attention towards the Justice Department under Biden.
“The failed witch hunts against President Trump have demonstrated that the Democrat-led DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” said Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement to The New York Times. “This broken justice system must be amended, and due process must be reinstated for all Americans, which is precisely what President Trump will accomplish upon his return to the White House.”
In a separate statement shared on Truth Social, Trump again shifted focus away from Hunter, instead spotlighting MAGA supporters who faced convictions for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
“Does the pardon granted by Joe to Hunter encompass the January 6 hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an exploitation and miscarriage of Justice!” the president-elect remarked. Trump has previously raised the prospect of offering pardons to certain individuals involved in the Capitol riot after his defeat by Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
Republicans in Congress who championed the case against Hunter were outraged following the pardon announcement. “The charges faced by Hunter were merely the surface of the rampant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have misled the American public about,” Rep. James Comer (R-KY) stated in a social media statement.
As chair of the House Oversight Committee, Comer spearheaded a prolonged investigation aimed at substantiating impeachment charges against Joe Biden, which ultimately did not succeed. Although the ensuing report from the committee never recommended charges against any Biden, Comer is releasing a book in January that continues to claim the family is involved in corruption.
