OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:42 PM – Monday, December 2, 2024
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson slammed President Joe Biden for his decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, after announcing numerous times that he would not do so, with Johnson characterizing the decision as an “abuse” of the justice system.
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“President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes. But last night he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!” Johnson (R-La.) wrote in a post on X.
“Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it. Real reform cannot begin soon enough!” he added.
Johnson’s criticism follows President Biden’s sudden decision to pardon his son, despite previously claiming that he wouldn’t pardon him on multiple occasions.
Prior to the recent pardon, Hunter Biden had been convicted on federal gun charges, and he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, opening the possibility of serving a prison sentence.
Biden announced the pardon on Sunday.
He claimed that his son, who failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019, who lied on federal firearms forms, and whose notorious laptop containing pictures and videos of himself smoking crack cocaine, engaging in sexual acts with prostitutes, among other illicit behavior, was “singled out” and faced “selective prosecution.”
Biden argued that his 54-year-old son was “singled out” and faced “selective prosecution” after failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes, for lying on federal firearms forms in regards to his drug use, and after his infamous laptop, which contained images and videos of Hunter smoking crack cocaine, having sex with prostitutes, and engaging in other illicit activities, was discovered by the media, politicians, federal authorities.
However, Democrat officials previously claimed that the Hunter Biden laptop story, which was reported by a number of news outlets, was “fake” Russian disinformation. The last release of emails, images, and videos allegedly belonging to Joe Biden’s son “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” stated a letter that was signed by more than 50 former senior intelligence agents. Nevertheless, the agents were wrong, and this falsehood resulted in the American people losing faith in the nation’s intelligence community.
“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. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough,” President Biden wrote in a statement.
“Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” Biden added.
In addition to Johnson’s comments, other lawmakers took to social media to condemn Biden’s decision, including some Democrats.
“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers,” wrote Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.).
“You’ve been lied to every step of the way by this Administration and the corrupt Biden family. This is just the latest in their long coverup scheme. They never play by the same rules they force on everyone else,” added House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
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