U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday (December 1) he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of making false statements on a gun background check and illegally possessing a firearm and plead guilty to federal tax charges, Reuters reports.
"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," he said in a statement released by the White House.
The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute the sentences of his son, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden on Sunday (December 1) said that he had “admitted and taken responsibility” for his mistakes, which had been “exploited political sport”, just after his father U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon his son.
The pardon was a reversal after pledging to stay out of legal proceedings against the younger Biden who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
"I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering," Hunter Biden said in a statement released on Sunday evening.
Biden made no remarks about his decision to sign a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, for tax violations and firearms-related charges, as he departed for Angola on Sunday (December 1).
The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute sentences for Hunter who was due to face sentencing for the convictions on Dec. 16.
Biden said he had made his decision to pardon over the weekend.
The president, his wife, Jill Biden, and their family including Hunter, spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and returned to Washington on Saturday (November 30) night.
"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision," said Biden in a statement on Sunday before he left for his trip to Africa.
