(NewsInsights.org) – President Joe Biden and his staffers have repeatedly denied rumors that he intends to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, before leaving the White House. Yet, many Republicans remain skeptical about the validity of these claims.
Hunter Biden reached an agreement with federal prosecutors earlier this year on two misdemeanor tax charges after he failed to pay federal income taxes in a timely manner in both 2017 and 2018. A court also found him guilty on three separate felony gun charges in June related to the fact that he lied about illegal drug use on a firearms purchase form in 2018.
President Biden appeared to reject persistent rumors that he would pardon his son while speaking at the G7 Summit in Italy in mid-June. “I said I abide by the jury’s decision,” he explained. “I will do that. And I will not pardon him.”
At the time, the president said he was proud of his son for overcoming an addiction. Then, he called him one of the most decent men he knew.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the matter shortly afterward, sparking rumors that Biden would break his promise. She has since stated that the president would not, in fact, change his mind and never had any intention of doing so.
However, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and a number of other Republicans simply don’t trust these assurances. They speculate that the president, who recently announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election in November, will use the opportunity to fully reverse course.
On the July 22 episode of his podcast, Cruz placed the odds of Joe Biden pardoning Hunter Biden at 100%. However, he was careful to specify that the president wouldn’t change his mind on the matter until the election was over. “He’s not going to do it before Election Day,” he explained. “But he’s going to stick around.”
Congressman Derrick Francis Van Orden (R-MN) expressed a similar opinion shortly after the president’s announcement about stepping out of the face. “Stand by for Hunter’s pardon,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pardoning Hunter Biden would raise serious questions about the president’s respect for the rule of law. Such a clear violation of ethics would also damage public trust in the justice system and fuel rumors about the preferential treatment of political elites.
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