Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son slammed by senior Democrats

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Senior Democrats have hit out at the decision by US President Joe Biden to grant a pardon to his son Hunter Biden, with the fallout over the president’s clemency for a close family member spreading.

As they returned to Washington after the Thanksgiving break, several lawmakers from Biden’s own party attacked his decision to use his powers to shield Hunter from prosecution for any crimes committed over the past decade, after vowing for months that he would not do so.

“A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests,” Gary Peters, the Democratic senator from Michigan, wrote on X on Monday.

For many Democrats, Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter, who has been convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges, was the latest blow to a party as it struggles to reset after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

Democrats fear Biden’s move undermines their ability to contest Trump’s threats to the rule of law, and makes them appear hypocritical given the president’s repeated statements that he would not pardon his son.

“He said he wasn’t going to do it. He shouldn’t have broken his promise,” Tim Kaine, the Democratic senator from Virginia, told reporters.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Washington state congresswoman representing a swing district, added on X: “President Biden’s pardon of his son confirms a common belief I hear in southwest Washington: that well-connected people are often gifted special treatment by a two-tier justice system. The president made the wrong decision. No family should be above the law.”

As Biden flew to Angola on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president had made the decision over the past weekend, and “wrestled” with it. Ultimately, he was swayed by the fear that his son would be exposed to politically-motivated prosecution by the justice department during Trump’s second term.

“Hunter was singled out . . . because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son,” Jean-Pierre said. “I think [Joe Biden] truly believed enough is enough,” she added.

Some moderate Republicans also condemned the president’s pardon. “This decision makes a mockery of our justice system. Everyone must be held accountable for their actions under the law,” Lisa Murkowski, the senator from Alaska, told reporters.

But at a holiday party at the White House on Monday, Jill Biden, the first lady, emphatically backed the decision. “Of course I support the pardon of my son,” she said.