President Joe Biden is not the first president to pardon a family member involved in legal or political controversy.
Bill Clinton played the family card when he pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges long after he had served his sentence. He also sparked controversy with the pardon of the late Marc Rich, a billionaire who was charged with tax evasion and illegal oil trading with Iran. Critics argue the decision was influenced by Rich's ex-wife — a major Democratic donor.
Donald Trump wrapped up his presidency with a pardon for Charles Kushner, the dad of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned several individuals convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Biden, in June, told reporters that he would “abide by the jury decision” and “not pardon [Hunter]." He changed his mind after spending Thanksgiving in Nantucket with Hunter and other family members.
"I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further," Biden said in a White House statement.
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Who Else Should Biden Pardon?
Besides Hunter, it’s not clear who else might receive a high-profile pardon before 2025.
Biden could spotlight systemic issues by granting clemency to individuals incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses.
Two years ago, Biden announced pardons for federal marijuana possession offenses. Yet, none of the roughly 3,000 people imprisoned for federal cannabis crimes have been released.
In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) urged Biden to take immediate action through its “People Not Poultry” campaign. The organization highlighted that Biden freed more turkeys than cannabis prisoners.
LPP, joined by advocates and over 60 Congress members, recently sent a letter requesting clemency to reunite families for the holidays. With his presidency winding down, Biden still has an opportunity to commute sentences for non-violent cannabis offenses.
Legacy Pardons: Similar to Barack Obama's focus on sentencing reform, Biden could use his clemency powers to reinforce his administration's priorities, such as racial justice or criminal justice reform.
Recall how Obama, under whom Biden was vice president, granted clemency to Gen. James Cartwright, who pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about leaking classified information.
Obama also commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst who leaked classified documents to WikiLeaks. Manning served seven years of a 35-year sentence.
In addition, Obama commuted the sentences of more than 1,700 individuals, including over 500 serving life sentences. This marks the highest number of clemency actions by any president since Harry Truman, who also issued a record number of pardons during his presidency.
Who Won’t Biden Pardon?
Don’t expect Edward Snowden to receive any pardon love. The former National Security Agency contractor leaked classified U.S. government information in 2013 and was notably absent from both Obama’s and Trump’s lists of pardons.
What about insurrectionists? "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?" Trump asked.
Not likely. A bipartisan Senate report concluded that at least seven people lost their lives in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, where Trump's supporters attempted to overturn the election results.
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