Joe Biden pardons his son. Is that justice?
Consider This from NPR
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🗓️ 2 December 2024
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
That's because his father President Joe Biden pardoned him with just weeks left in his presidency. The President's son was convicted in June on federal gun charges. Hunter Biden lied about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. And he pleaded guilty in September for failing to pay more than a million dollars in federal taxes.
The younger Biden was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month.
President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. What will that mean for his legacy... and for the future of presidential pardons?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Over the last four years, President Biden has often said he wants to restore Americans' faith in our legal system. |
| 0:08.1 | He gave this speech a day after the insurrection on January 7, 2021. |
| 0:13.6 | Justice serves the people. It doesn't protect the powerful. |
| 0:19.7 | Justice is blind. |
| 0:21.8 | As Joe Biden's son Hunter has faced federal charges, the president has often said no one is above the law. |
| 0:29.5 | On ABC News back in June, days before Hunter was convicted on federal gun charges, the president told David Muir this. |
| 0:36.0 | But let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict no matter what it is? |
| 0:41.6 | Yes. |
| 0:42.7 | And have you ruled out a pardon for your son? |
| 0:45.0 | Yes. |
| 0:46.1 | Well, on Sunday, just weeks before Hunter's sentencing hearing, the president reversed course. |
| 0:51.9 | He offered his son a, quote, full and unconditional pardon. |
| 0:57.7 | Joe Biden is certainly not the first president to use his position to help those close to him. |
| 1:03.0 | He's not even the first president to pardon a relative. Also on this list just released from the |
| 1:07.3 | White House, Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner. Let's take through these. |
| 1:13.2 | Donald Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law just before leaving office four years ago. |
| 1:18.4 | And on President Bill Clinton's last day in the White House in 2001, he pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton. |
| 1:25.5 | Today, some experts say President Biden's actions recall another moment in history. |
| 1:31.4 | Good evening. Gerald Ford has been president for exactly one month, and today he got his first |
| 1:37.0 | hostile reception. The reason was his surprise weekend action of granting a pardon to his predecessor |
| 1:42.8 | Richard Nixon. |
| 1:49.5 | Consider this. President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. |
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