(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Top Democrats threatened to withhold funding for President Joe Biden’s future presidential library over the pardon of First Son Hunter Biden, Axios reported Thursday.
The report indicates that high-profile Democrats are “furious” about Biden’s decision to pardon his son, which critics have panned as a short-sighted and selfish stain on the president’s legacy.
“If they had their s**t together, they would have been doing the work on this over the summer—right after he announced he was stepping aside,” one well-connected Democrat told the outlet. “Now, it’s just too late. Hopefully, they are rightsizing their expectations and budget!”
Biden family members were “shocked” by the number of Democrats publicly denouncing the president’s pardon, sources told the outlet.
While they anticipated some negative reaction, they did not precipitate the full extent of the outrage that ensued as Biden jetted off to Africa immediately after issuing his statement.
“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 proclaimed, blaming a weaponized justice system for his son’s conviction.
Mark Halperin tells Jesse Watters that Joe Biden's presidential library might end up looking more like a "bookmobile."
"The donors are really annoyed" with him. pic.twitter.com/TnvzhXHIbd
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) December 6, 2024
Two top Biden aides, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomaini and First Lady Jill Biden’s top advisor, Anthony Bernal, are reportedly in charge of planning the outgoing president’s library, sources informed Axios.
Despite reports of funding threats, progress toward the library’s creation has occurred.
One source told Axios of the reported aggrieved donors, “No, that sentiment hasn’t come up in a single donor conversation, and work is well underway.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.