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Here's what compelled Joe Biden to take U-turn and choose family first by pardoning son Hunter
Joe Biden proved on Saturday that family comes first when he made an announcement about pardoning his son Hunter for gun and tax fraud charges.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden proved on Saturday that family comes first when he made an announcement about pardoning his son Hunter for gun and tax fraud charges.
Biden, according to NY Times, had discussed the move that had bothered him for months with his wife Jill Biden and Hunter. However, the President had consistently stated that he would not grant his son a pardon, which would save him from facing legal issues for years.
The pardon covers Hunter's possible federal offenses from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024. Moreover, he will not face criminal charges or go to jail, and the planned court hearings will likely be canceled. It further covers Hunter's tenure on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, which raised questions about his international financial operations.
The announcement comes as Biden has been observing with caution how President-elect Donald J. Trump is choosing his loyalists for the upcoming cabinet who pledged to bring political and legal retribution on the GOP leader's adversaries.
Trump expresses sympathy for Biden family's issues with Justice department
According to three people who were briefed on the conversation, Biden welcomed Trump to the White House, where he listened impassively as the president-elect voiced well-known complaints about the Justice Department before surprising his host by expressing sympathy for the Biden family's own issues with the department.
However, the surprising decision from the outgoing President came just before Hunter's impending sentencing on federal weapons and tax charges, scheduled for December. As a father, the one thing Biden could do for his difficult son, a recovering addict who he believed had endured years of public suffering, was to pardon him.
Biden holds urgent meeting with top advisors
After returning to the White House from Nantucket, Mass., after his final Thanksgiving as president, Biden called a meeting of few top advisors on Saturday to inform them about his decision.
“Time to end all of this,” Biden said, reported NY Times, citing a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to some people close to Biden, the decision sparked a struggle between two fundamental identities: the president who takes pride in following by his morals and the distressed father attempting to shield his kid.
