Good afternoon. The outgoing US president, Joe Biden, has issued “a full and unconditional” pardon to his son Hunter Biden, who was to be sentenced in the coming weeks after being convicted of federal gun and tax fraud charges.
The decision marked a reversal for the president, who had repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his sentence. In a statement announcing the decision, Joe Biden said Republican opponents had inflated the charges “to attack me and oppose my election”.
