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President Joe Biden’s public justification of his decision to pardon his son — accusing the Justice Department of political targeting — threatens to undermine the image he carefully cultivated through decades in politics as an honest broker whose principal loyalty was to protecting the sanctity of critical US institutions.
Biden’s 180-degree turn on pardoning his son led Republicans to accuse the president of lying to the public ahead of the election only to reverse course after the political stakes disappeared. The White House provided scant justification for the reversal, offering merely that Biden changed his mind after “wrestling” with the decision over a Thanksgiving holiday spent partly with his son.
The blanket pardon spanning a decade of possible criminal activity also offered ammunition to critics who have long questioned whether Hunter Biden engaged in illicit lobbying or foreign dealings, including while his father served as vice president. While no evidence of such crimes has been made public, immunity from those possible charges was central to a plea deal that collapsed last year.
Beyond tarnishing a legacy already badly bruised by his withdrawal from the presidential race and President-elect Donald Trump’s subsequent victory, Biden’s justification has fanned concerns, even among allies, that his move will be seized upon by the incoming administration to overhaul the federal government and dispense with longstanding norms protecting the independence of the criminal justice system.
Implicit in his explanation was the suggestion that prosecutions, even under his leadership, had been politicized, a point that incoming Trump officials have used to justify planned overhauls at the Justice Department, FBI, and intelligence agencies.
“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, said Monday.
The widening fallout left White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the back foot Monday, as she struggled with questions about the implications of Biden’s statement.
“Two things could be true — the president does believe in the justice system, and the Department of Justice, and he also believes that his son was singled out politically,” Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One as Biden flew to Africa. “They would continue to go after his son. That’s what he believed.”
The intervention offers political cover for Trump to widely issue clemency decisions. Trump has regularly mused about pardoning or commuting sentences of all those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and immediately raised the issue in response to Biden’s move.
“Does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 hostages,” he wrote on Truth Social, referring as he regularly does to the convicted riot participants as hostages. “Such an abuse and a miscarriage of justice!”
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