I just read Kim Wehle's excellent article on Hunter's pardon which ameliorates some of my fury at Bulwarks take on the issue. By the way Kim's article is kind of buried at this point. Comer and his henchmen had more than enough time to nail Hunter. Joe went out of his way to let MAGA Weiss do his dirtiest for 5 whole years. And this is what they come up with, gun form and late payment of taxes with interest and penalties. Then Trump's promise to give Hunter Biden the death penalty. Oh, he was just joking? Trump is about to take office as the President of the United States, I don't think "just kidding" is a good enough excuse.
Sorry Andrew but there can't be any hypocrisy when the rule of law doesn't apply to the rich and powerful. We live in an oligarchy whether any of us like it or not. Put your heads down, use a VPN and take care of your family. There's nothing else to do anymore.
To begin with, before you accuse Biden of hypocrisy, please give us the facts. How many American citizens are subject to a special prosecutor? How many people who have paid their late taxes and interest and penalties in full are still subject to prosecution and imprisonment? How many people who have lied on a gun application in which there is no injury are subject to prosecution and imprisonment? Before pundits write their nonsense, provide us with facts; otherwise one has as much credibility as the drunk guy in the bar sitting next to you.
Re: Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter. This is not that complicated, and all of the people who are shocked, shocked! that Biden would do such a thing only need ask themselves: if it were your son, what would you do? Hunter Biden would have faced years of litigation, likely bankrupting him. MAGA would destroy him and his family. Honestly, I hope that Biden pardons every person that the MAGA ghouls have named as targets. This is not about “principles” but about shielding as many as possible from authoritarians that have no principles.
I can't listen to Sonny go on about dispensing with ethics as soon as they become inconvenient, and I can't believe multiple people are quoting him. He's not wrong, but this is the guy who said he DGAF about the BONKERS Thomas/Alito corruption. He just...meh, idc, just couldn't get upset about it, who cares? That guy has no credibility with me. Sorry, Andrew.
Regarding Biden and pardons: I appreciate that there are powerful arguments on either side but, given Trump's intentions to seek retribution I'm leaning strongly in favor of Biden extending pardons to those that have been singled out by Trump. Another thought: maybe Biden ought to pardon Trump as well. As abhorrent as the idea of Trump getting away with his crimes might be, the Federal cases against him are likely dead and extending a pardon to him could make mute the inevitable Republican howls regrading the other pardons.
Trump is a sadist and a torturer. His picks will be the same. Trump was looking forward to putting Hunter on a cross behind prison walls and telling JBiden:
"See you can't do a thing about it," a mini version of Otto Warmbier
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has already shown how it will behave. Don't forget how Barr and Trump treated Cohen. Mssrs. Bulwark, Miller, Egger, et.al. Forget the screeds about hypocrisy. Write something productive.
I personally don't know any Dems who think Biden was wrong to pardon Hunter. It's mostly a media "both sides" fabrication. Hunter is a huge screw-up but his persecution is simply MAGA trying to punish Joe for winning in 2020.
Just wait until these rubes find out that Trump cares not a wit about their economic distress and is solely interested in enacting revenge at anyone who had the temerity to criticize him.
"But the pardon also betrays a deep worry that Republicans wouldn’t stop coming after Biden’s family until they had extracted their pound of flesh—that we are past the point of saving the institutional legitimacy of our system of justice."
How about Trump issuing an executive order vacating all pardons granted during the previous administration? Sound ridiculous and impossible? By the time it gets litigated out and the Supreme Court probably has rationalized why that is a legitimate reading of the Constitution Trump can have wreaked havoc over the lives of many of his enemies.
There is no coming back from this so Biden is acting rationally in issuing his pardon of Hunter he KNOWS what will be coming.
That is also why he must pardon Trump, his coconspirators and the January 6 insurrectionists. Follow Lincoln's path of Amnesty and Reconstruction. At least it will disarm Trump's use of the pardon as a tool of propaganda for the short term. Also Jack Smith's reports need to published BEFORE Trump takes office.
Pardon them, for what purpose? So Trump can say, “Look, everyone! Biden pardoned me, so clearly I did nothing wrong! Time to do it all again, and then some!”???
A pardon is not an exoneration. If anything it says in spite of this pardon the pardoned person was a criminal. Especially if/when Jack Smith releases his damning report on Trump's crimes.
There is a HUGE difference between pardoning Hunter and pardoning others on Trump's enemies list. Hunter has been convicted and investigated to death already. Comer came up with nothing. Weiss has been investigating and prosecuting Hunter Biden since 2018 and all serious analysis of the prosecutions conclude that Hunter was treated as much or more aggressively and unfairly as anyone else who committed the crimes he did. More importantly, after all the investigation, no viable charges have surfaced let alone been brought.
This must be contrasted with others on Trump's enemies list. They have not been accused of any crime or even criminally investigated that we know of. Andrew is right that they should not be subjected to abuse by the justice system. However, they won't be convicted unless they actually are guilty of something because there are still enough checks in the system. But President Biden preemptively pardoning them not only deprives these good people the opportunity of being able to clear their names by dismissal or acquittal of bogus charges, it allows Trump and MAGA world to scream "SEE THEY WERE GUILTY" forever. Trump gets his vengeance without even firing a bogus shot.
Everyone knows from what Hunter is being pardoned. Pardoning others on the enemies list would allow Trump and his cronies falsely to define them as criminals. This is wrong.
Disagree. MAGA will define Cheney and Milley and Hutchinson and McCabe and Harris as criminals with or without pardons. WITH, they have some protection. Nothing is stopping Biden from making a very candid statement about WHY he is issuing the pardons. (He owes us that candor, after omitting it from his statement re: Hunter's pardon.)
In a normal world sure, but subjecting these people to prosecution and investigation is the punishment, years of their lives, their money, professional lives, all damaged.
Yes of course it's MAGA's point. But they already have suffered death threats and other upheaval and costs. And it will continue whether pardoned or not, and pardoning might even make it worse. Just an educated guess, but if these honorable people were asked, they very well would refuse a get out of jail free card and stand on their record and character. I know that I would want that to be my legacy whatever the costs rather than being unfairly smeared for eternity.
Trump might use Biden’s pardon of his son to justify pardoning the J6 rioters?!?
Since when was Trump concerned about justifying anything?
My rational self thinks Gene Robinson struck the right balance in his editorial in today’s Washington Post, but part of me suspects that the pardon was a middle finger to the Monday morning quarterbacks and critics left, right, and center who seem to have forgotten the accomplishments of the past four years, and are piling blame on Biden for losing the election.
I came to post a comment saying how much I disagree with this piece, All this hand wringing about this pardon of Hunter. And after reading most of the comments already here I see I don’t need to as others have already said my point for me. Joe Biden is a great president and this pardon of his son does not detract from his legacy. If anything it showed his courage to change his mind when circumstances changed. I’m proud of my president.
His son is not a good dude. He's shady AF and was 12/10 trading on Joe's position in the gov't with Burisma. Along with a zillion other lousy decisions. He is the archetypal black sheep and has done nothing to change that. And Joe went on about honor and decency and the soul of America, and swore he wouldn't pardon Hunter...then, after he basically made it impossible to avoid Trump 2.0, he also went back on his word. While pardoning literally zero of the other millions of people who also struggled with addiction and committed felonies and are rotting in jail because their daddies aren't the president.
Do we understand WHY he did it? Sure. Doesn't mean we have to believe it's right.
I just read Kim Wehle's excellent article on Hunter's pardon which ameliorates some of my fury at Bulwarks take on the issue. By the way Kim's article is kind of buried at this point. Comer and his henchmen had more than enough time to nail Hunter. Joe went out of his way to let MAGA Weiss do his dirtiest for 5 whole years. And this is what they come up with, gun form and late payment of taxes with interest and penalties. Then Trump's promise to give Hunter Biden the death penalty. Oh, he was just joking? Trump is about to take office as the President of the United States, I don't think "just kidding" is a good enough excuse.
Sorry Andrew but there can't be any hypocrisy when the rule of law doesn't apply to the rich and powerful. We live in an oligarchy whether any of us like it or not. Put your heads down, use a VPN and take care of your family. There's nothing else to do anymore.
I’ve talked to many people in my large circle and although anecdotal no one gives a F*** about the pardon. Please move on :)
To begin with, before you accuse Biden of hypocrisy, please give us the facts. How many American citizens are subject to a special prosecutor? How many people who have paid their late taxes and interest and penalties in full are still subject to prosecution and imprisonment? How many people who have lied on a gun application in which there is no injury are subject to prosecution and imprisonment? Before pundits write their nonsense, provide us with facts; otherwise one has as much credibility as the drunk guy in the bar sitting next to you.
Re: Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter. This is not that complicated, and all of the people who are shocked, shocked! that Biden would do such a thing only need ask themselves: if it were your son, what would you do? Hunter Biden would have faced years of litigation, likely bankrupting him. MAGA would destroy him and his family. Honestly, I hope that Biden pardons every person that the MAGA ghouls have named as targets. This is not about “principles” but about shielding as many as possible from authoritarians that have no principles.
I can't listen to Sonny go on about dispensing with ethics as soon as they become inconvenient, and I can't believe multiple people are quoting him. He's not wrong, but this is the guy who said he DGAF about the BONKERS Thomas/Alito corruption. He just...meh, idc, just couldn't get upset about it, who cares? That guy has no credibility with me. Sorry, Andrew.
Regarding Biden and pardons: I appreciate that there are powerful arguments on either side but, given Trump's intentions to seek retribution I'm leaning strongly in favor of Biden extending pardons to those that have been singled out by Trump. Another thought: maybe Biden ought to pardon Trump as well. As abhorrent as the idea of Trump getting away with his crimes might be, the Federal cases against him are likely dead and extending a pardon to him could make mute the inevitable Republican howls regrading the other pardons.
Trump is a sadist and a torturer. His picks will be the same. Trump was looking forward to putting Hunter on a cross behind prison walls and telling JBiden:
"See you can't do a thing about it," a mini version of Otto Warmbier
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has already shown how it will behave. Don't forget how Barr and Trump treated Cohen. Mssrs. Bulwark, Miller, Egger, et.al. Forget the screeds about hypocrisy. Write something productive.
I personally don't know any Dems who think Biden was wrong to pardon Hunter. It's mostly a media "both sides" fabrication. Hunter is a huge screw-up but his persecution is simply MAGA trying to punish Joe for winning in 2020.
Very true.
Just wait until these rubes find out that Trump cares not a wit about their economic distress and is solely interested in enacting revenge at anyone who had the temerity to criticize him.
"But the pardon also betrays a deep worry that Republicans wouldn’t stop coming after Biden’s family until they had extracted their pound of flesh—that we are past the point of saving the institutional legitimacy of our system of justice."
How about Trump issuing an executive order vacating all pardons granted during the previous administration? Sound ridiculous and impossible? By the time it gets litigated out and the Supreme Court probably has rationalized why that is a legitimate reading of the Constitution Trump can have wreaked havoc over the lives of many of his enemies.
There is no coming back from this so Biden is acting rationally in issuing his pardon of Hunter he KNOWS what will be coming.
That is also why he must pardon Trump, his coconspirators and the January 6 insurrectionists. Follow Lincoln's path of Amnesty and Reconstruction. At least it will disarm Trump's use of the pardon as a tool of propaganda for the short term. Also Jack Smith's reports need to published BEFORE Trump takes office.
Pardon them, for what purpose? So Trump can say, “Look, everyone! Biden pardoned me, so clearly I did nothing wrong! Time to do it all again, and then some!”???
A pardon is not an exoneration. If anything it says in spite of this pardon the pardoned person was a criminal. Especially if/when Jack Smith releases his damning report on Trump's crimes.
https://open.substack.com/pub/meidastouch/p/the-big-reason-why-hunters-pardon?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1wbr1r
There is a HUGE difference between pardoning Hunter and pardoning others on Trump's enemies list. Hunter has been convicted and investigated to death already. Comer came up with nothing. Weiss has been investigating and prosecuting Hunter Biden since 2018 and all serious analysis of the prosecutions conclude that Hunter was treated as much or more aggressively and unfairly as anyone else who committed the crimes he did. More importantly, after all the investigation, no viable charges have surfaced let alone been brought.
This must be contrasted with others on Trump's enemies list. They have not been accused of any crime or even criminally investigated that we know of. Andrew is right that they should not be subjected to abuse by the justice system. However, they won't be convicted unless they actually are guilty of something because there are still enough checks in the system. But President Biden preemptively pardoning them not only deprives these good people the opportunity of being able to clear their names by dismissal or acquittal of bogus charges, it allows Trump and MAGA world to scream "SEE THEY WERE GUILTY" forever. Trump gets his vengeance without even firing a bogus shot.
Everyone knows from what Hunter is being pardoned. Pardoning others on the enemies list would allow Trump and his cronies falsely to define them as criminals. This is wrong.
Disagree. MAGA will define Cheney and Milley and Hutchinson and McCabe and Harris as criminals with or without pardons. WITH, they have some protection. Nothing is stopping Biden from making a very candid statement about WHY he is issuing the pardons. (He owes us that candor, after omitting it from his statement re: Hunter's pardon.)
In a normal world sure, but subjecting these people to prosecution and investigation is the punishment, years of their lives, their money, professional lives, all damaged.
True. MAGA knows they're not guilty of anything, the upheaval and cost to them is the point.
Yes of course it's MAGA's point. But they already have suffered death threats and other upheaval and costs. And it will continue whether pardoned or not, and pardoning might even make it worse. Just an educated guess, but if these honorable people were asked, they very well would refuse a get out of jail free card and stand on their record and character. I know that I would want that to be my legacy whatever the costs rather than being unfairly smeared for eternity.
Navalny stuck to his guns and Trump's daddy had him executed. Let's protect the good people physically, then worry about legacy.
Trump might use Biden’s pardon of his son to justify pardoning the J6 rioters?!?
Since when was Trump concerned about justifying anything?
My rational self thinks Gene Robinson struck the right balance in his editorial in today’s Washington Post, but part of me suspects that the pardon was a middle finger to the Monday morning quarterbacks and critics left, right, and center who seem to have forgotten the accomplishments of the past four years, and are piling blame on Biden for losing the election.
I came to post a comment saying how much I disagree with this piece, All this hand wringing about this pardon of Hunter. And after reading most of the comments already here I see I don’t need to as others have already said my point for me. Joe Biden is a great president and this pardon of his son does not detract from his legacy. If anything it showed his courage to change his mind when circumstances changed. I’m proud of my president.
His son is not a good dude. He's shady AF and was 12/10 trading on Joe's position in the gov't with Burisma. Along with a zillion other lousy decisions. He is the archetypal black sheep and has done nothing to change that. And Joe went on about honor and decency and the soul of America, and swore he wouldn't pardon Hunter...then, after he basically made it impossible to avoid Trump 2.0, he also went back on his word. While pardoning literally zero of the other millions of people who also struggled with addiction and committed felonies and are rotting in jail because their daddies aren't the president.
Do we understand WHY he did it? Sure. Doesn't mean we have to believe it's right.
Did he get $2 billion from Saudi Arabia after working in the government? All relatives of presidents use their positions to try to make money.
It's easy to say that young liberals need to fight to defend our institutions and our democracy. What, exactly, do you have in mind?