To a crime most people would have not had to face this level of scrutiny and was probably told by his lawyers that taking a guilty plea rather than further trial was the best thing to do in light of his father being president…so there is that
Many people who commit the same crimes do not go through the same process and are given far more lee-way.
Republicans however want to restrict looking at tax evasion by the rich…
So did Kushner's father - to tax evasion, campaign fraud, and witness tampering. And now he's going to be the damn ambassador to France. So what's your point?
No, this won't make any difference. Trump and his fascist rage monkeys are already going to rain hell on us. Nothing Biden does or doesn't do will change any of that.
With respect, I think this would be the case if we were in different times. The Jan 6 rioters will all be pardoned and I would not be surprised if 1/6 gets suggested as a national holiday. Hunter would be a sitting duck with the new DOJ. I think Joe had no choice in this case which makes me sad.
I disagree. Hunter was being persecuted unfairly - there are norms not worth keeping - we can get rid of those - play hardball and still keep our sense of fairness.
You guys can all take a seat. We allowed you guys to prop us up as institutionalists, even though that’s not who we are. You know what that got us? Merrick Garland.
Sorry David, but I disagree. They aren’t playing by the rules and never will. Your strategy is outdated I’m sad to say. Decorum and tradition are dead. May Hunter find some peace for a moment now
trump's pardons to those that could pay cash or favors did not move the needle against him from his supporters. Pres Biden pardoning his son to protect him from the much announced retribution trump talks about certainly will not dissuade D voters as well. It was what any loving parent would do.
Really, like Trump would care about any pardons he gives based on his history such as him making his daughter’s father in law - who he pardoned - the Ambassador to France.
I honestly do not blame Biden, who has probably just run out of fucks to give (pardon my French)
When has being a beacon of virtue either shamed Trump and MAGA into good behavior or stopped them from pushing radical policy? Theyʻre going to crime their crimes either way. Pearl clutching time is over. This hasnʻt changed the work ahead one whit.
Given the proposed appointment of Kash Patel I think Hunter would have pursued to the end of the Earth to satisfy a vindictive Trump. For all of Hunter’s immense faults I am not sure that is fair either.
What reality are you living in?What year?Have you looked at the next "President"'s cabinet picks?What about from 2017?Biden ,a loving father, pardoned his son for offenses that wouldn't have been brought except for the name. Get over yourself.
I agree. Sometimes you just have to do what you want and what’s best for you when it’s the last chance. He has the chance to free his son. We’d all do the same thing.
I agree. When you think of all the crap Trump got away with and how he’ll be even more untouchable now, this was the right call. Biden shouldn’t have to sacrifice his son for political fodder!
not at all. Trump will be Trump no matter what Democrats do. I 100% support the pardon. the gun charges were ridiculous and Trump is a convicted felon and insurrectionist who was elected. there are no more norms to break.
Are you still holding Democrats to an impossibly high standard? Bro, we moved past that point. The other side is using a blowtorch and you are waving a paper fan. Get with the program or get out of the way.
I hope that this one of the many December surprises that Dark Brandon has in order to batten down the hatches before January 20th. We need him to do this and much more to save America
I don’t think this pardon makes any thing harder or easier. But given the bullshit pardons Trump did, the appointments he is making, and the fact that he is a felon who has escaped all punishment he should have and now is above the law for at least four year, well good fucking deal for the Bidens
Yeah because without this pardon, Trump would have kept himself restrained and followed every rule and law, as we all know and as his cabinet picks demonstrate 😂
Bzzt. The Hunter Biden pardon has zero effect on what’s to come from the incoming Trump regime. They were already primed to commit acts of maximum evil.
Not the least bit. Biden made his case. Trump also promised to go after Biden and his family once in office. Biden would have been a total fool to ignore that.
Trump wants another Hunter trial to use to falsely claim US support for Ukraine is really just Biden’s support for Ukraine. Look at the false claims about Vindman. The work ahead is to maintain US support for Ukraine and NATO.
Courts haven’t been fair in decades. It’s all bought and paid for including both political parties. In the past most of the crime was done in the dark. Just wait til January. Trump does all the criming out in the open. Buckle up.
Chronic failure of imagination coupled with normalcy bias. Trump is a lame duck that fears no one. He was always going to push every boundary, violate every norm, and grease every palm
The focus must surely be supporting reform so that an “elected monarch” no longer has this power, at least unchecked. The fact that such reform is vanishingly unlikely is beside the point.
Having a sociopathic nihilistic autocrat as president is the challenge. Hunter Biden being pardoned is a side bar. The challenge that lies ahead remains unchanged.
Why should the Bidens have to sacrifice yet another child? We all know the Trump regime would have used Hunter as a pawn and/or warning ‘heads-on-pikes’ style.
I hope the Bidens, Obama’s, Clinton’s, and even Bushs are far, far outside the US on 1/20 in a country willing to stand up to the incoming fascist regime. And their colleagues. They’re looking for any pretext to commit a slaughter of global warning.
Yeah, Trump’s gonna put a bunch of criminals in his cabinet now and maybe even an FBI head who has vowed to pursue unfriendly media and political opponents and maybe promise pardons to tamper with witnesses and…oh wait never mind.
No, it doesn't. Nothing anybody does is going to affect anything trump does one way or another. They have to act in their family's best interest, and leaving Hunter as a target who would have been the star of a show trial was not the thing to do.
Family members of anyone against whom Trump or his followers carry a grudge is at significant risk after Jan 20. I would not have bet on Hunter's longevity in prison. Nor would I bet on the fairness of his sentence/treatment.
The rules dont apply anymore. They made that very clear. It’s about time the Democrats stop pretending that everything is normal and do something proactive.
The courts are corrupted to the point that no republican will be held responsible and no democrat will be given leniency. So exactly what do you think imprisoning Hunter Biden will help that? There is no justice system.
Get a grip. Your pearl clutching has lifted your dress and your republican is showing. By pardoning Hunter, Biden has put Trump in a box. Either a pardon is rule of law and MAGA can't go after Hunter, or a pardon doesn't mean anything anymore and nihilism reigns? It will drive MAGA crazy!
The Republic would be no stronger for the continued suffering or sacrifice of Hunter Biden and his family.
I am so grateful Biden granted clemency. They sacrificed enough already by following the rules and allowing this selective persecution.
No it absolutely does not. America is a fascist dictatorship starting next month. That was as true yesterday as it is now. This change is absolutely nothing. Trump was always going to wipe his ass with the Constitution and take our rights away.
The howling illogic if everyone wringing their hands about this is really something. This is precisely the kind of thing that presidential pardons exist for.
Yes it's his son. Avoid that. But give me a fucking break.
People do it every day and are not charged unless they use the weapon while committing a crime. But Hunter needs to be treated differently? No, he doesn't.
Biden’s son is the obsessional, irrational hate object of MAGA extremists. Rendering him to Trump’s Bureau of Prisons would have been exceptionally reckless.
Trump had Cohen sent back to prison & put in solitary confinement because Cohen wouldn’t sign a document promising not to write a book. Things are going to be even more unjust this time around.
David - you can’t write…”Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel threatens to turn the FBI into an instrument of personal presidential power.” And expect Biden not to play by those new rules. Joe knows what Trump will do. Time to take the gloves off.
I honestly don’t think they get it. It’s over. Norms, rule of law—all gone come Jan 20. Kash Patel isn’t sitting there saying “I can only do the awful things I told Steve Bannon I would do IF Joe pardons Hunter…”
I also don’t think they get this: Joe Biden was FULLY prepared to not do this pardon. He reads the writing on the wall. Precedence is gone. Out the window. Things are going to get very, very very ugly.
It’s a stacked deck in favor of scofflaw Repubes and MAGAts, Mr. Frum, and it has been for some time. Time for Democrats to stop bringing a plastic spork to a knife fight.
No. There are no "rules" anymore. You are deluded if you think this will make a whit of difference. These lunatics show no mercy to most humans or issues. I am THRILLED. One less thing to be sick over.
As if all they needed was this excuse to do what they are going to do (and have already done). The prosecution of Hunter was political. Not only is this just, it changes nothing, except maybe gives Trump a small fig leaf. We just need to stop buying into his bs narratives.
Hunter was unfairly charged. My ex-husband was a gun collector. He was also an alcoholic and did drugs. His friends were all the same. No one is ever charged for what Hunter was charged with unless they've used the weapon in a crime. Do you propose we let Hunter be sacrificed?
Have we forgotten that Trump was accused of selling pardons at the end of his first term? He was always going to pardon the Jan 6th people and whomever he wants, this affects nothing.
If you think President Biden is under any actual obligation to sacrifice his son to the wolves that have been persecuting him for years in order to make life worse for the president, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Nah. Trump’s gonna do what he’s gonna do. Dems playing perfect baseball doesn’t matter when Republicans are playing Calvinball. Rules are for suckers in Trump’s world. Might as well not be one for a change.
Sadly, an approach for the work ahead has not been developed. Attempts at blaming allies has shown to be counter productive. The rules for this fight have yet to be established.
Frankly I’m sick of the lackluster political results that fidelity to a notion of “the high road” have achieved, and aghast at how republicans under Trump rarely pay a political price for their sneering middle finger response to it. It’s time for a truly level playing field.
I get the objections; I do. But if I were Joe I’d have done the same. He saw the future and thought to save his son from what he could. Who among us etc
I disagree. Trump used and will use pardons for conflicts, power grabs, and insurrection. If Biden pardoned his son, made him an ambassador AND told others to dump money in his pocket, THAT might make the work harder. If the GOP wants to ban pardons of family, let them amend the Constitution.
For sure, Biden is the lesser of evils compared to Trump, but he's shown a pattern of selfishness, looking after himself and his family over the country. The worst offense was refusing to stand down after one term as he promised, but this is bad too.
Cmon David! At what point does playing by the rules and honoring precedent and decorum no longer matter? When you are playing against serial cheaters and liars willing to do anything you become a fool if you keep lying down to take the beating! Sick of the double standard b/c we expect it from them.
Does it, though? Sure it gives MAGA a new hobby horse to ride, but is any corrupt action trump will inevitably take made more likely by this? No - he’d do it all anyway. Jeez, he nominated the crook he nepo-pardoned as ambassador to France.
And this is why we lose. Stop bitching . Hunter Biden suffering addiction and had horrible life dragged through public. Please deal rescinded he paid back taxes and should've been maybe a fine but nah. So save me that. And Biden sees the cabinet coming and had to. Hate this pious double standard
If Democrats do it,they are challenging well respected standards of behavior, when Republicans do the same, they are simply exploiting all their legal options. F that Hypocrisy
Republicans were going to do whatever the fuck they wanted regardless. You need to understand that the rules are dead and it's left-wing handwringing that let the GOP kill them. If they're going to play dirty, we need to play dirtier. They go low, we kick 'em in the teeth while they're down there.
There are so many arguments against what Biden did. The only counter I can think of is: Knowing what Trump is capable of, would you allow your only remaining son to be completely at the mercy of the Trump Justice Dept. while he is behind bars in prison.
This changes nothing because we all know why Hunter was targeted. This pardon does not lessen any of the Trump crimes and coming 💩show. Trump is always going to Trump, regardless of what anyone else does.
I'm sorry, I don't think Hunter being pardoned or not was going to make any of the work easier or harder, its the same work against the same corruption. Dems play by the rules, we lose. Good for Joe. I hope he pardons 1000s.
I don't think Biden had the obligation to sacrifice his son to the altar of "norms" to protect some false sacred view of democracy when trump and his team only plan to shit all over democracy the next four years and would have shit all over Hunter again and again out of pure spite. Nothing changes.
+ I remember Ford's pardon of Nixon--which, tho I didn't like Nixon one bit, didn't bother me at all, Nixon had already resigned + ceded power voluntarily
most citizens will see Biden's pardon for what it is, as part of a family drama--and as protecting his son from vindictive acts
Human Puss pardoned 70 criminals + commuted 73 sentences. Human Puss plans to release Jan 6ers, fake electors and gawd knows who else. Why do they get to be
LAWLESS while we have to be FLAWLESS???
I get it. Morality, principles, and letters of the law may mean one thing. But damn it…not when that only applies to one side while the other side self-servingly and corruptively advances off it with ZERO guardrails.
Comments
Literally. All by himself.
He plead guilty.
Huge.
Don't comit a crime them.
Republicans however want to restrict looking at tax evasion by the rich…
But none of that matters now.
Note that Donald Trump himself was not prosecuted for the tax fraud his business committed.
🤷🏼♀️
🤷🏻♂️
Right ??
That's not the past tense of the word plead
Explains how Trump got in.
Trump is 1000 times worse, but Biden is full of shit too.
And if you think it does then you weren’t really down for the work.
I honestly do not blame Biden, who has probably just run out of fucks to give (pardon my French)
Stfu David.
They changed the rules. Stop demanding perfection from our team.
he is a Republican without a rational party.
Sit. Down.
No
It’s going to be unimaginably horrific.
You never pacify a bully by trying to annoy them less in order to keep them from hitting you harder, or finding a reason to mess with you.
They are ALWAYS going to find a “reason” to hit you.
WTF
The MAGA Trash only care because they're told to, and they'll hate a bag of socks of you tell them their imaginary friend in the clouds said to.
Smart people can simply CHOOSE to say "This doesn't matter" and let the subhumanoids seethe about it. Set down the weight, Dave.
I am so grateful Biden granted clemency. They sacrificed enough already by following the rules and allowing this selective persecution.
Yes it's his son. Avoid that. But give me a fucking break.
Are you insane?
trump will now make it a point to make a bogus charge against Hunter as payback and toss him in prison.
Job harder?
For who?
You??
You truly ARE delusional.
Presidential immunity. Case closed.
This is the sad truth.
🙃
Besides, if Biden gets Hunter out of the way Trump Reality Productions is going to have to hunt around for another show for Jim Jordan to run.
There are so many arguments against what Biden did. The only counter I can think of is: Knowing what Trump is capable of, would you allow your only remaining son to be completely at the mercy of the Trump Justice Dept. while he is behind bars in prison.
+ I remember Ford's pardon of Nixon--which, tho I didn't like Nixon one bit, didn't bother me at all, Nixon had already resigned + ceded power voluntarily
most citizens will see Biden's pardon for what it is, as part of a family drama--and as protecting his son from vindictive acts
that might put today's pardon in a different light for some of those who are not happy with it
LAWLESS while we have to be FLAWLESS???