(Headline USA) President Joe Biden insisted in an interview published this week that he did not lie to the American public when he pledged not to pardon his son Hunter, but admitted his decision to do so could set a bad precedent.
Late last year, Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son, exonerating him from a decade’s worth of potential crimes, including the federal tax and gun crimes he was convicted of last summer.
The pardon came despite Biden’s frequent assurances that he would not pardon his son.
The move outraged even some of Biden’s own supporters, who argued it was an abuse of the pardon power.
However, speaking with USA Today, Biden defended the pardon, suggesting he does not regret going back on his promises.
Asked whether he has any “concerns” about the pardon, specifically in regards to whether it could set a “precedent for future presidents,” Biden replied, “I hope not, because I meant what I said when I was asked whether I was going to pardon my son.”
Biden claimed he changed his mind for two reasons.
“Number one, that he had paid all his taxes. He paid them late. He was fighting a drug problem. And he beat it. He’s been square and sober for almost six years now. This was back in ’80, I mean excuse me, in 2000 and … What year was it? Anyway, long time ago. And that he paid it all,” he said.
Hunter Biden “should have paid [his taxes] on time,” the president acknowledged, but being charged for the tax evasion amounted to an unfair double standard, he claimed.
The federal gun charges against Hunter Biden were also unfair, the president insisted.
“The second thing I found out was that on this purchasing a gun, at the time, you have to sign a form if you’re under the influence of anything,” he explained. “Well, I don’t even know whether they got straight on the signing of the form. But the point was, no one’s ever been tried on that. Nobody. And they potentially put him in jail for X number of years for that. He had it for 10 days. Two days in his possession. No weapon, no bullets, no movement, no leave. And it got returned. And no one’s ever been tried for that.”
Biden then hinted that he is still mulling additional pardons, including preemptive pardons for anti-Trump critics such as former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“A little bit of it depends on who he puts in what positions,” Biden said of President-elect Donald Trump.
