Joe Pardons Hunter
Plus: Media figures and politicians react to the news, Donald Trump appoints Kash Patel to head the FBI, and more...
Pardon me boy: President Joe Biden has issued a blanket pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, for all offenses Hunter has committed or may have committed from January 1, 2014, through yesterday. Said pardon is "full and unconditional," and pertains to any alleged criminal wrongdoing. Hunter Biden is off the hook for tax fraud and for improperly procuring a firearm while addicted to drugs; he is also protected from any future inquiry into alleged influence peddling.
This total immunity represents a complete and utter betrayal of a campaign promise. When he ran for reelection, Biden told the public in no uncertain terms that a presidential pardon was off the table. He also said, unambiguously, that he "will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process."
Reporters frequently asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about this possibility, and she always affirmed Biden's position that no pardon would be offered.
A compilation of every time KJP was asked if Biden is going to pardon Hunter and every time she said no.pic.twitter.com/i4hEeVEpjN
— Defiant L's (@DefiantLs) December 2, 2024
In his statement, Biden attempted to justify the pardon on the grounds that "no reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son." In terms of the gun conviction, there's some truth to that. As Reason's Jacob Sullum has argued, the statute that Hunter violated is "widely flouted, haphazardly enforced, and constitutionally dubious." The tax fraud issue is another matter; such charges are "routinely brought against people who are not political targets," argues The Atlantic's Jonathan Chait.
More seriously, the presidential pardon is so robust that it offers Hunter Biden protection from as yet unproven allegations of influence peddling on behalf of foreign business interests. An earlier attempt to grant Hunter such protection in exchange for pleading guilty on tax-related offenses collapsed after a federal judge balked at the degree of immunity being conferred on him.
There's no sugarcoating what the elder Biden has done: He has issued what may well be remembered as the most disreputable presidential pardon in the U.S. history, and he has done it at a time when his party is attempting to make the argument that President-elect Donald Trump is a unique and pernicious threat to democracy, law and order, and American political norms.
"In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me—and there's no reason to believe it will stop here," wrote Biden in his statement. "Enough is enough."
Reactions to the pardon have not been favorable to Biden—even from his own party. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis castigated Biden for putting "family ahead of country."
While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden's natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.…
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) December 2, 2024
Election analyst Nate Silver derided Biden as a "selfish and senile old man."
A selfish and senile old man.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 2, 2024
Liberal pundit Matt Yglesias called on Democrats to demand a constitutional amendment to limit the pardon powers of the president.
Democrats with half a brain should denounce this Biden move and call for a constitutional amendment placing checks on the pardon power which has been abused, over and over and over again by presidents of both parties. https://t.co/EbNnWiKrUQ
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 2, 2024
Meanwhile, Politico succumbed to a familiar trope and accused Republicans of pouncing on the news:
Republicans pounce on Biden pardoning his son, Hunter https://t.co/B0FadRaTIY
— POLITICO (@politico) December 2, 2024
Meanwhile, at the FBI: In other news, Trump has nominated Kash Patel as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In his statement announcing the pick, Trump hailed Patel as an "America First fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American people." Trump also noted Patel's "pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax."
In 2016, Patel was working as an aide to House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R–Calif.). Patel is alleged to have authored a memo accusing the FBI of unjustly surveilling Carter Page, a Trump campaign aide, on suspicion that he was a Russian asset. Page was an important figure in the national intelligence apparatus's efforts to tar the Trump campaign as complicit in Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election.
The FBI ultimately produced no proof that Page was actually a Russian spy. Moreover, a 2019 inspector general report regarding the surveillance of Page concluded that the FBI had committed no fewer than 17 serious performance failures relating to the warrants obtained under FISA. Basically, the FBI had every reason not to believe that Page was a Russian spy but nevertheless sought a FISA warrant to surveil him and had it reauthorized three times.
Even so, the inspector general's report prompted victory laps from the likes of former FBI Director James Comey and then-Director Andrew McCabe. The agency itself released a statement celebrating that the report "does not impugn the FBI's institutional integrity. It doesn't doubt—or propose any changes to—the FBI's mission or our core values. It doesn't criticize—or even question—the brand that this organization has earned over 111 years."
Patel was less impressed with the agency's performance, and has subsequently called on the FBI to eliminate redundant intelligence gathering functions while concentrating on fighting crime.
Kash Patel: "I'd shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the Deep State. Then, I'd take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops. You're cops—go be cops."
"Every… pic.twitter.com/lBexXKSpBf
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) December 1, 2024
Media commentators have slammed Patel as a Trump loyalist, and there is little doubt that he fits the bill. And while it's refreshing for a potential FBI director to be skeptical of the agency's ever-expanding mission creep, he has also threatened to unleash the power of the government against the president-elect's critics, which would be an obvious abuse of power.
Scenes from Grand Rapids: I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with family on the west side of Michigan, took my mom to see Wicked, and managed a Fox News appearance from my infant nieces' nursery room.
Best of all: The University of Michigan won a hard-fought victory over Ohio State University. Go Blue!
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK!!!!!!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/HOJ1I4vYQo
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 30, 2024
QUICK HITS
- Reason's annual webathon starts tomorrow!
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) agrees with Elon Musk about defunding the military-industrial complex.
- Joe Rogan claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky volunteered to come on his podcast.
- Tech investor Marc Andreessen has accused the Biden administration of "debanking" investors and executives.
- Trump's nominee to head the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is drawing deserved criticism from libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.).
I'm going to call 'em like I see 'em. Trump's nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns. https://t.co/pHSmGr81Tz
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 1, 2024
