Hunter Biden’s Pardon Is Unprecedented
President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, has put the Democratic Party and many mainstream media commentators on the defensive. Numerous liberal figures took Biden at his word when he said he would never pardon Hunter, and gleefully contrasted the president’s self-sacrifice and fidelity to principles with what they see as the lawlessness of President-elect Donald Trump.
A few Democrats have smartly criticized Biden for breaking his promise; Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, for instance, blasted Biden for putting “family ahead of country.” Others were left flailing: Rep. Dan Goldman (D–N.Y.) attempted to draw a distinction between the political situation at the time Biden made his promise and the current moment. Viewers are unlikely to find themselves convinced.
That’s because the pardon is unprecedented. It’s true that past presidents have issued controversial pardons: Gerald Ford, for instance, pardoned his embattled predecessor, Richard Nixon. There are also examples of presidents pardoning someone close to them: Bill Clinton pardoned his half brother, Roger Clinton.
The Hunter pardon is far more comprehensive, however, in that it covered not just his convictions for drug-related activities and tax fraud, but any other criminal behavior since 2014—the year that Hunter joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. It has been alleged that Hunter’s job was essentially to trade on the family name and sell his access to dad. This may not have been illegal, but it does mean that the pardon is clearly designed to offer preemptive protection not just to Hunter, but to Joe Biden himself.
These features make the pardon unprecedented, though perfectly in line with the president’s executive powers.
Pardon Me?
Nevertheless, some media commentators have attempted to defend the pardon by pointing to similar actions undertaken by previous presidents. But a few individuals have actually made up entirely fictitious pardons.
Enter Charles Pierce, a liberal commentator and political blogger for Esquire magazine. Earlier this week, he wrote a column saying that people should “shut the fuck up” about the Hunter Biden pardon because George H.W. Bush did the same thing—he pardoned his son Neil for financial crimes.
“Nobody defines Poppy Bush’s presidency by his son’s struggles or the pardons he issued on his way out of the White House,” wrote Pierce.
There’s just one problem with that: George H.W. Bush never pardoned Neil Bush. And Neil was never
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