Current US President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden in two criminal cases at once. Already in December, he was to be sentenced in the cases of illegal possession of weapons and tax evasion.
This is stated on the website of the White House, and details are also reported by CNN.
“Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Departmentʼs decision-making, and I kept my word, even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted," Joe Biden said.
He says that "Hunter was treated differently" than people who commit similar crimes, and the president also said there was political pressure in the cases.
And the charges in Hunterʼs cases came only after several of Bidenʼs political opponents in Congress were motivated to attack the incumbent president and oppose his re-election, Biden says.
"In trying to break Hunter, they were trying to break me," the president declared.
At the same time, CNN writes that the American president broke his promise, because he said that he would not interfere in the affairs even if Republican Donald Trump won the presidential elections.
The newly elected US president will not be able to revoke the pardon after taking office.
CNN notes that in addition to the tax evasion and gun possession charges, Hunter will not be charged with any potential federal crimes he may have committed "between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024".
Hunter Biden accepted his fatherʼs pardon and said he would dedicate his life to helping people with addiction.
In a social media post, Trump called the pardon "an abuse and miscarriage of justice".
What kind of business is it about?
Hunter Biden was charged with three felony counts and six misdemeanor counts of tax evasion, tax evasion, and filing false or fraudulent tax returns.
According to the investigation, Biden Jr. failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes on income he received from foreign companies over four years.
Recently, a new episode appeared in this case, according to which Hunter Biden received money from a dubious Romanian businessman allegedly for lobbying his interests.
He pleaded guilty in September. The verdict was to be announced on December 16 — he faced up to 25 years in prison.
In September 2023, Hunter Biden was also formally charged with illegal acquisition and possession of a weapon while on drugs.
The charges related to illegal possession of weapons. Two of them involve the fact that Hunter lied about not using drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver in Delaware in 2018, and that he possessed the weapon while under the influence of drugs. All of these are federal crimes.
He pleaded not guilty, but in June 2024 a jury found him guilty on all three counts.
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