Joe Borelli, former Republican leader of the New York City Council, fired back at CNN panelists Wednesday after they accused President Donald Trump of corruption over a meme-coin dinner. Borelli reminded viewers that it was former President Joe Biden who issued sweeping pardons to members of his own family—an unprecedented move that included his embattled son Hunter Biden.
The controversy stemmed from a New York Times report alleging that Trump invited the top 220 investors of his $Trump meme-coin to dinner, leading to a surge in the cryptocurrency’s price. While critics called the move questionable, Borelli pointed out that no criminal conduct had been established, contrasting it with what he called the blatant corruption of the Biden family.
“I will play what-about-ism,” Borelli said. “When the last president was so corrupt that he had to pardon, in advance, his entire family.”
President Biden pardoned Hunter Biden on December 1, 2024, after insisting for months that he wouldn’t. He followed that with pardons for his brothers and in-laws just before Trump’s inauguration in January. Hunter had been convicted on gun charges in Delaware and faced additional tax fraud charges in California for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes over three years.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes responded by trying to shift the focus back to Trump, saying, “every presidency has had family members try to profit off of the president.” However, even he conceded that Hunter Biden’s behavior was “unseemly.”
Substack commentator Touré added that Biden’s pardons were preemptive acts of protection against a “dictator,” a clear reference to Trump.
Despite the Department of Justice being under Biden’s own administration, the former president claimed the investigations into his family were politically motivated.
CNN panelists, meanwhile, continued to criticize Trump for a dinner, while largely avoiding deeper questions about Biden’s unprecedented use of the pardon power to shield close relatives from legal accountability.
