The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s tax matter criticized President Joe Biden on Tuesday, stating he lacks “the power to alter historical facts” while granting pardons to his son.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi articulated in a five-page ruling that various assertions made by Biden in his Sunday announcement regarding a complete pardon for Hunter were incorrect.
Specifically, he focused on the President’s claim that his son “faced different treatment” compared to others “who delayed tax payments due to severe addictions.”
Scarsi pointed out that in pretrial documents, Hunter Biden acknowledged he “suffered from severe addiction to alcohol and drugs” until May 2019. However, when he entered a guilty plea concerning the charges, he conceded to tax evasion that occurred afterward—this included writing off high-end clothing expenses and payments to escorts as business-related costs.
In essence, some of the infractions he admitted to transpired during a timeframe when Hunter claimed he was not genuinely addicted to drugs, contradicting the President’s remarks.
Besides admitting guilt to offenses associated with $1.4 million in back taxes in September, Hunter was found guilty of illegal firearm possession in June by a jury.
President Biden granted him a “full and unconditional” pardon in both instances, encompassing any federal offenses he may have committed “from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”
Biden also drew comparisons of the cases to a politically motivated witch hunt, casting doubt on the autonomy of the U.S. justice system.
“No reasonable individual reviewing the details of Hunter’s cases could come to any other conclusion than that Hunter was targeted solely due to being my son – and that is unjust,” President Biden stated. “There has been an endeavor to undermine Hunter – who has maintained sobriety for five and a half years, even amidst relentless attacks and selective prosecution. In their attempt to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me.”
Scarsi challenged that assertion as well.
“Two federal judges explicitly dismissed Mr. Biden’s claims that the Government pursued charges against him due to his familial ties to the President … Also, the President’s own Attorney General and Department of Justice staff supervised the investigation that led to the charges,” Scarsi noted. “In the President’s view, this multitude of federal civil servants, including myself, are unreasonable individuals.”
Scarsi was not isolated in his discontent.
A few Democrats—including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ)—defied their party and reproached Biden for attacking the justice system similarly to what President-elect Donald Trump frequently did.
“It simply conveys to the American populace the idea that there exists one system for the affluent and powerful and another for everybody else,” Bennet remarked to CNN on Monday.
Scarsi indicated he would officially conclude proceedings in Hunter Biden’s tax case upon receiving the necessary documentation.
