President Biden announced Sunday he signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, arguing the charges against his son were brought for political reasons.
The pardon clears Hunter Biden in both his federal cases.
Hunter Biden was found guilty in June in a federal case on three felony charges over his purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, violating the law by concealing drug use. He pleaded guilty in September to nine federal tax charges, avoiding a trial.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said in a statement.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” he added. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Both the president and the White House press secretary said multiple times in recent months that Biden did not plan to pardon his son. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Nov. 7, two days after President-elect Trump’s victory, that the answer was still “no” when asked about a possible pardon.
Biden in his statement, which was released as he departed for a multi-day trip to Angola, argued he kept his word not to interfere in the Justice Department’s decision-making.
“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said. “Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process.”
The president argued his son was “treated differently,” saying most people in his situation would not face felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun purchase form and that those who pay back their taxes with interest and penalties are usually given “non-criminal resolutions.”
“Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
Hunter Biden was set to face sentencing in his federal gun case on Wednesday.
Trump and other Republicans have for years attacked the Biden family as being criminally corrupt, with a particular focus on Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.
House Republicans sought to make Hunter Biden’s business a central part of its impeachment inquiry into President Biden. But their report failed to uncover a smoking gun, instead relying on largely debunked threads, disputed testimony, and circumstantial evidence that failed to directly tie any official action from President Biden to his family’s business dealings.
Still, they were vocal on Hunter Biden’s legal dealings and brought even greater attention to the high profile case.
Hunter Biden was initially offered a plea deal in regards to his gun charges, but that fell apart under scrutiny from a judge.
It was also highly criticized by GOP lawmakers who pointed to testimony they received from two IRS whistleblowers accusing prosecutors of slow walking his case and failing to bring more serious tax charges.
The top prosecutor overseeing his case, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, was later elevated to a special counsel amid complaints from GOP members in Congress, enabling him to bring the tax case in California.
Trump, who complained repeatedly during Hunter Biden’s gun trial that he was being given preferential treatment, said late last month that he would not rule out a pardon for Hunter Biden if he were to win the election.
Updated at 8:27 pm.
Rebecca Beitsch contributed.
