Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) voiced sharp criticism of President Joe Biden following the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, for a series of crimes dating back to 2014. Johnson accused the Biden family of eroding public trust in the nation’s justice system.
“President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes. But last night, he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade,” Johnson said. “Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it. Real reform cannot begin soon enough.”
The pardon, announced Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, conveniently came just weeks after Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss to President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
In a statement, President Biden defended his decision, claiming he had upheld his pledge not to interfere with the Department of Justice. “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,” Biden said, portraying Hunter as a victim.
Biden continued by stating, “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.” He added, “There has been an effort to break Hunter… In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Critics have labeled the president’s remarks as an attempt to distract from the seriousness of Hunter Biden’s crimes, which extend beyond his gun-related conviction. According to reports, the pardon covers a broader scope, including Hunter’s role in influence-peddling schemes and profiting from his father’s political influence during his tenure as vice president.
Breitbart News highlighted that Hunter’s actions, which fall under the pardon, date back to his controversial appointment to the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014. This appointment raised immediate concerns about conflicts of interest, as Joe Biden oversaw the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy at the time. These dealings, critics argue, exemplify how Hunter leveraged his father’s political position for personal gain.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the pardon, echoing Biden’s assertion that Hunter was unfairly targeted. “No reasonable person could have come to another conclusion,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, maintaining that Biden “believes in the Department of Justice,” despite the optics of the pardon suggesting otherwise.
The pardon has sparked calls for increased scrutiny of the Biden family’s dealings and renewed debates over the politicization of justice. Johnson and other lawmakers insist that restoring trust in the justice system requires immediate and comprehensive reform.
