Staff Reports
The countdown to President Joe Biden’s exit from the Oval Office is heating up—time waits for no man, especially one who has spent nearly four years navigating a foreign policy dumpster fire while his son Hunter wreaked havoc here at home. As the traditional presidential pardon season approaches, speculations are swirling that Biden might not only attempt to wrap things up with a bow but also give his son a golden ticket out of federal prison.
Bob Woodward, that infamous face of political journalism, now thinks Biden might throw his son a bone. However, this move would completely contradict the White House’s ongoing claims about Hunter’s legal troubles—the assumption here being that a scandal-prone presidency doesn’t need to douse more fuel on its already raging dumpster fire of a reputation. Hunter faces sentencing for a menagerie of offenses next month, and one has to wonder if Biden is gearing up to ‘pardon the family’ in more ways than one.
Depends on how many ballots they harvest – if it be close, they may. Biden's primary concern at that point would be Hunter, so different from H&W's concern. I haven't thought about that (at the bottom) in detail, but IMO even after the election Joe could pardon Hunter and then… pic.twitter.com/wJASOAnn1W
— ArmchairAncap (@armchairancap) November 5, 2024
The president’s authority to pardon is enshrined in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution—a handy little clause for political maneuvering that conveniently allows him to rewrite his family’s narrative. As if this saga wasn’t juicy enough, Hunter has already been found guilty of three felonies related to a 2018 gun purchase, as well as a slew of tax crimes. Someone might want to remind the president that these aren’t precisely the heartwarming family gatherings that would make for great Thanksgiving conversation.
The optics of Biden considering a pardon for his son raise an eyebrow or two, especially given the reports about the president’s emotional turmoil over Hunter’s situation. It seems Old Joe is a mix of fatherly concern and political calculation. The narrative being pushed is that Hunter may spiral back into drug addiction if the pressure mounts. It seems rather ironic that Biden, who once strode into the political arena as the champion of crime legislation, is now rumored to be contemplating the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card for his son.
As Hunter’s legal predicaments loom over the Biden household, one has to chuckle at the chaos that family ties bring to politics. Woodward suggests, rather presumptively, that Biden’s heartfelt conversations with close friends revolve around the struggles of his son. For a president who once boldly declared he wouldn’t pardon Hunter, the bipartisan skepticism surrounding such statements is palpable. Hunter himself claims to be a reformed man, sober for years and compliant with the law, yet it’s hard to ignore the palatable stink of privilege wafting from the current family drama. This saga is just another testament to the age-old saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” especially when the tree has its own army of lawyers.
