President Biden’s announcement that he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, rattled the political world late Sunday.
The president argued in an announcement on Sunday that the costs introduced in opposition to his son, which included three felony fees on his buy and possession of a gun in 2018, happened resulting from political causes.
“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 – and that is wrong,” Biden mentioned.
Reactions from either side of the aisle poured in within the wake of the announcement, with Republicans expressing furor over the president’s pardon of his son.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), mentioned in an announcement posted to the social platform X on Sunday that the president “has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities.”
“Not only has he falsely claimed that he never met with his son’s foreign business associates and that his son did nothing wrong, but he also lied when he said he would not pardon Hunter Biden,” Comer continued.
In the course of the Home GOP impeachment inquiry into the elder Biden, Comer performed a central function because the chair of the Home Oversight Committee. Nevertheless, the inquiry struggled to provide you with stable proof that the president’s household dedicated corrupt conduct and that Biden was engaged within the international enterprise dealings of his son.
The Home Oversight Committee known as the pardon a part of a sample in their very own submit.
“From the lawfare against President Trump to now the pardoning of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s unprecedented abuse of power has been a stain on the honor of the U.S. presidency,” the panel’s X account posted.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a member of the Oversight committee, in a submit on X threw the president’s phrases again at him, retweeting a submit from President Biden that mentioned merely, “No one is above the law.” Greene replied: “Come to find out, Hunter is. But who is going to pardon Joe?”
Biden’s submit about no person being “above the law” got here on the day of Trump’s conviction in his New York hush cash case in late Could.
The Home Judiciary Committee, which has additionally investigated the Biden household, cited the president’s and White Home press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s insistence that Hunter Biden would not be pardoned, and mentioned in a submit, “You’ve been lied to over and over again.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the Home Judiciary Committee, steered the pardon solely proved a necessity for his panel’s impeachment investigation of President Biden.
“Democrats said there was nothing to our impeachment inquiry. If that’s the case, why did Joe Biden just issue Hunter Biden a pardon for the very things we were inquiring about?” Jordan posted.
Republicans within the higher chamber additionally expressed displeasure with the president’s transfer to pardon his son.
“I’m shocked Pres Biden pardoned his son Hunter bc he said many many times he wouldn’t & I believed him Shame on me,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) mentioned in a submit on X.
Responding to a submit by Fox Information on X in regards to the pardon, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), mentioned “that under Democrat governance, there truly is a dual system of justice.”
“One that protects Democrats and another weaponized against their political opponents,” he added.
Former Lawyer Common Eric Holder, who served below former President Obama, additionally weighed in on Hunter Biden’s case and the pardon, saying on X that “No [U.S. attorney] would have charged this case given the underlying facts.”
“After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been – fundamentally and more fairly – a declination. Pardon warranted,” he added.
Some Democrats, nonetheless, weren’t proud of the president’s pardoning of his son.
“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,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) mentioned on X. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) disagreed with the president’s motion.
“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers,” he posted on social media.
The Hill has reached out to the White Home and the Justice Division for remark.
Katie Wadington contributed reporting.
