Biden pardons son weeks to his exit as US president

The United States President, Joe Biden, on Sunday granted an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases.

Biden’s pardon came amid assurances that he would not intervene in his son’s legal troubles.

“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,” Biden said in a statement.

The pardon is expected to bring about fresh scrutiny over the independence of the US judicial system, especially at a time when incoming president, Donald Trump, has moved to appoint loyalists to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Justice Department himself.

Hunter was convicted earlier this year for lying about his drug use when he bought a gun — a felony — and has also pleaded guilty in a separate tax evasion trial, but had not faced sentencing.

Biden, who is in the final weeks of his presidency before Trump takes office on January 20, had repeatedly said he would not pardon his son.

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“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.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.

“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,” the president noted.

The pardon comes as criminal cases against president-elect Trump have stalled after a ruling on presidential immunity by the Supreme Court — all but ensuring Biden’s Republican rival will likely never see a jail cell, even after his landmark conviction for falsifying business records in May.

US presidents have previously used pardons to help family members and other political allies.

Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother for old cocaine charges and Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law for tax evasion, though in both cases those men had already served their prison terms.

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