US President Joe Biden has issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing for tax and gun violations this month. This move marked a reversal from Biden’s earlier stance that he would not interfere with the sentencing, citing that Hunter was being “treated differently” by his own Department of Justice.
White House Statement and Biden’s Justification
In an official White House statement on December 2, President Biden explained his decision: “For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: 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. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
Reactions from Both Sides of the Aisle
The presidential pardon has drawn criticism from both political rivals and some allies. US President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office in January as the 47th President of the United States, called the pardon “a miscarriage of justice.” Democratic Governor Jared Polis also condemned the decision, stating that Biden was “putting his family above the nation.”
Can Trump’s Administration Overturn the Pardon?
While President Biden’s pardon is final and effective, questions have arisen about whether President-elect Trump could revoke it once he takes office. The US Constitution grants the president the power to pardon federal charges but does not provide a mechanism for revoking an already issued pardon.
According to the Congressional Research Service, a president can only revoke a pardon if it has not yet been formally delivered. This was illustrated in 1869 when President Ulysses S. Grant revoked a pardon issued by outgoing President Andrew Johnson, and the decision was upheld by the federal court. The CRS noted, “The law undoubtedly is, that when a pardon is complete, there is no power to revoke it, any more than there is power to revoke any other completed act.”
Recent Example of Pardon Revocation
A more recent case involved President George W. Bush, who revoked a pardon he had granted to real estate developer Isaac Robert Toussie in 2008, just a day after it was issued. Toussie, who had been convicted of making false statements to a government agency and mail fraud, was one of 19 individuals pardoned by Bush in December 2008. The revocation came after Toussie’s $30,800 donation to Republican campaigns was discovered. Bush’s Department of Justice argued that the president could revoke the pardon because the recipient had not received formal notification.
Hunter Biden’s Pardon Status
In Hunter Biden’s case, the pardon has been finalized by the courts, meaning that Trump’s incoming administration cannot reverse it. Biden’s sentencing hearing, scheduled for later this month, was cancelled after the courts recognized the pardon.
Despite the finality of the pardon, Trump has publicly criticized Biden’s decision. He questioned whether Biden would apply the same standards to the “January 6 hostages,” referring to the Trump supporters involved in the 2021 Capitol attack.
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