Subject: Re: Biden/s Sttatement on the Pardon
It was just a bad choice, and a selfish one.

I couldn't disagree more. It was the only right choice in the circumstances.

Try to look at it impartially. What kinds of people are typical candidates for a Presidential pardon? If you ask me, they are folks who have recognized their crime, who have made amends as best as possible, or who may themselves be victims of overzealous prosecution. I think Hunter Biden fits all of those.

He certainly recognized and admits to his crimes. He attempted to plead guilty, but that plea agreement was thwarted - arguably for political reasons. His guilty plea would have been for substantially the same crimes of which he was eventually found guilty at trial. On the tax crimes, he has paid all of the back taxes with penalties and interest. Both the gun and tax felonies are ones that are rarely prosecuted. Civil penalties and sometimes misdemeanor prosecutions are far more common. So there is certainly an element of overzealous prosecution.

Hunter would be an ideal candidate for a pardon from any President.

Biden's basically saying that the DoJ responded to political pressure in prosecuting his son - that his DoJ responded to political pressure.

There is a huge difference in responding to political pressure that would be to the benefit vs. the detriment of the President. My understanding of the events leading up to Hunter's investigation and prosecution is that there was a huge amount of political pressure on Joe Biden not to show favoritism to Hunter in this matter because there were accusations of mis-deeds that would implicate Joe Biden as well. To demonstrate that lack of favoritism, the AG chose to appoint a Special Counsel. (Hmmmm - seems like a Special Counsel is OK for this investigation and prosecution, but not Trump's. Interesting. But a completely different topic for another thread.)

The result of the investigation was that while there was adequate evidence to charge Hunter with crimes, there was not sufficient evidence of the crimes implicating President Biden that the Republicans were hoping to find. Not even enough to charge Hunter with those crimes, let alone implicate the President. Hunter's crimes were simply the fallout of the politically motivated investigation - an investigation that President Biden did not interfere with to demonstrate his independence.

With the facts all out in the open, and neither Biden disputing the facts found in the investigation, the attempt to gain some kind of equivalence between President Biden and Trump by some Republicans was thwarted. But the Special Counsel was still out there and President Biden wasn't going to interfere with the Counsel until his work was finished. So Hunter did get prosecuted and convicted.

Now that all of the facts are out in the open - without interference from the President - he has chosen to pardon Hunter. He had to allow Hunter to be thoroughly investigated and even prosecuted to protect the integrity of his Presidency. Now that everything is out in the open and Hunter has been convicted, he can pardon Hunter. President Biden has hidden nothing. Hunter did do some bad things, but the punishment (felony jail time) is considerably more harsh that the vast majority of similarly situated people face. So a pardon is appropriate.

It is not at all a stain on Biden's Presidency. It is a testament to his 50+ years of public service and the high standards he has held himself to throughout those years. He respected the systems we have put in place to govern the country, even when those systems cause both him and his family considerable emotional pain.

As to the independence of the DOJ, the threat to the Republic is not from a DOJ that carries out an investigation and prosecution that might make the sitting President look bad. It is from a DOJ that refrains from investigation and prosecution of those that the sitting President is trying to favor or protect.

--Peter