It was in a statement that this pardon was announced over the weekend, thus also breaking with his commitment not to intervene in Hunter’s case and with the Department of Justice. Among his justifications, Biden considered that the process was political revenge directed against himself.
“Attempts have been made to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, despite relentless attacks and targeted persecution. By trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. “Enough is enough,” he said in the statement.
What does a pardon consist of in the United States?
Francisco Belaúnde Matossian, professor of international law at the University of Lima, explains to The Commerce that all countries have pardon systems, that in certain cases “It allows a head of state to eventually release people who have spent a long time in prison, who are considered to have served enough time, sick people, elderly people.”. It is part of humanitarian law.
But the case of the United States is particular. Pardons have been presented to relatives and politicians, and even in the middle of a judicial process, when there is still no conviction. That is, there are no clear limits.
Besides…
Rejection and condescension
The pardon given by Joe Biden has divided public and political opinion in the United States, says analyst Octavio Pescador. “In political terms they don’t see it well, in personal terms they have sympathy or condescension with the decision because they understand the decision of a father who has lost a child”indicates to The Commercein reference to Beau Biden, who died in 2015. The UCLA professor and CNN en Español commentator adds that many understand that Biden “had tragedies in his life” and that he cannot leave his son adrift.
The Department of Justice points out in its Web page that the president’s clemency power is protected by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, and allows him to grant “pardons for crimes against the United States, except in cases of motion of censure.” These are limited to federal crimes and crimes prosecuted by the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
This situation has generated a discussion within the Democratic Party, between understanding his position as a father of a family and causing concern about the misuse of this grace. “As a father, I understand it, but for someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it is a setback,” said Democratic legislator Greg Landsman. Meanwhile, for Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, the president’s decision “puts personal interest before duty and further erodes Americans’ faith in the justice system.”
“It’s the same argument as Trump”
The pardon for Hunter Biden has been a surprise, but it is even more unexpected to see how Joe Biden ends up using the same arguments as Donald Trump to reject the conviction that declared him guilty of 34 crimes.
Although the president said he believed in the justice system, he also stated that “politics infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice.” In that sense, he assured that the charges were made just after several of his political opponents in Congress instigated an attack on him.
“The argument that gives [Biden] It is that the processes have occurred due to political pressure. It is exactly the kind of argument that Donald Trump makes against the proceedings against him. Then, of course, you can pardon yourself; And what’s more, he can pardon those people who have been convicted of the attack on the Capitol.”warns Belaunde.
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It is worth remembering that, after Donald Trump’s electoral defeat, on January 6, 2021, a mob broke into the United States Congress in an attempt to prevent the change of command. Since that moment, more than 1,500 people have been accused and 1,000 have already been sentenced with sentences that reach, in some cases, up to 22 years in prison.
On the other hand, the Republican leader was accused of bribing former porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged extramarital relationship. He reiterated several times that his trial was “rigged” and accused Joe Biden’s management. “This was a rigged trial by a conflictive judge who is corrupt. We are going to continue fighting until the end and we are going to win. The real verdict will be on November 5,” Trump said in May. The truth is that he lost his trial, but won the elections.
Joe Biden’s decision that could favor Donald Trump. (Photo: AFP)
“It does not set a precedent, but it is contradictory. Obviously, it helps Donald Trump. If he sees that Biden does not respect his word and gives exactly the same argument that he gave for the processes that have been followed against him, then obviously his speech and what he does once he assumes the presidency is legitimate.”considers Belaunde.
Meanwhile, Octavio Pescador points out that the pardon in the United States is not entirely clear and is constructed through interpretations of the law. Therefore, Biden’s decision leaves an open door for his successor.
“First of all, grant him forgiveness [a Hunter Biden] having said that he would not do it and putting in writing that the justice system is politicized, and that he is doing this to put an end to the case. But Trump’s argument had always been that they politicized the justice system, that they carried out a witch hunt. He agrees with you on that side. And then, on the other hand, it is giving him a way forward because he says ‘you have already changed the interpretation here to benefit your son, well I am also going to interpret it to benefit myself.’”Fisherman concludes.
More controversial pardons
Although Joe Biden has become the first US head of state to pardon his son, he is not the first to give this grace to a family member.
The chain BBC remember some cases. The first takes us to the 19th century. It was in December 1863 when Abraham Lincoln granted the so-called “presidential pardon” to Emily Todd Helm, half-sister of his wife, Mary Todd. The case occurred in the middle of the American Civil War since Emily Todd Helm’s family (specifically her husband) had been on the rival side.
Another case occurred in 2001, when in his last days in office Bill Clinton signed 140 pardons, and among them was the name of his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton. The British media points out that Roger Clinton was arrested and convicted in 1985 on two charges related to drug trafficking. And even Donald Trump himself has used this grace to favor Charles Kushner, none other than his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law.
That would be part of the problem generated by the new pardon. Belaunde points out that “a pardon is supposed to be for humanitarian reasons, basically to correct excesses”; but there have also been exclusively political cases.
One of these was carried out by President Gerald Ford, who pardoned Richard Nixon, his predecessor in the White House, for the Watergate scandal. This espionage case uncovered by the press produced a strong political crisis in the United States and the resignation of Nixon.
But this action also showed the possibility of pardoning people who had not yet been charged with any crime: Nixon resigned before being impeached and the pardon came in 1974, before he was impeached.
Along these lines, the same Department of Justice Remember that other pardons without sentencing were given by President Jimmy Carter to Vietnam fugitives and President George HW Bush’s pardon to Caspar Weinberger. Donald J. Trump also pardoned Joseph Arpaio and others after they were charged and convicted, but before sentencing.
