Is Biden pardoning Hunter?

After President Biden announced he would be standing down on Sunday evening, it’s been all go in the White House. But while speculation about the next Democrat nominee continues, there is a separate side plot that Cockburn is rather interested in — involving Biden’s son.

Robert Hunter Biden has spent a fair amount of time in the limelight over the years, for scandals both personal — crack cocaine use, infidelity and a two-year relationship with his late brother’s wife — and professional, with his dealings in China and Ukraine. Last month, the eldest son of the president was found guilty of lying about his drug use when purchasing a handgun and was convicted of all the charges against him — which could result in a jail sentence of up to twenty-five years. Hunter has been keeping a rather low profile since then, but after Biden’s rather significant weekend announcement, he has decided to put his head above the parapet. In a statement about his father’s decision not to seek a second term on Sunday, Hunter said:

Over a lifetime I have witnessed him absorb the pain of countless everyday Americans who he’s given his personal phone number to, because he wanted them to call him when they were hurting. When their last hopes were slipping through their hands. That unconditional love has been his North Star as a President, and as a parent.

How sweet. But is there more here than meets the eye? Alongside his criminal conviction, Hunter is facing a separate federal indictment which alleges he has evaded $1.4 million worth of tax, with the trial set to start in September. Under Article II of the US Constitution, a president can grant a pardon for a federal crime — but back in June, President Biden maintained that he would not pardon Hunter, vowing to respect the jury’s decision. However now that the president is stepping down, might he U-turn on that promise?

Hunter’s gun charge sentencing will be no later than October 9, giving the president a short window to change his mind if his son has to serve prison time. Perhaps he’s considering it — he’s certainly been spending more time with his son, with NBC News reporting that Hunter has been joining White House meetings with his father much to the surprise of the president’s aides. Their relationship may become more important than ever in the coming months…

There is certainly precedent for pardoning your own family. In 2001, on his very last day in office, Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for a 1985 cocaine possession conviction he served a year in prison for. Clinton’s pardon cleared Roger’s criminal record, although he would go on to be arrested for reckless driving under the influence less than a month later. And, oddly, Trump’s own run-in with the law could play to Hunter’s advantage. Last Monday, Trump’s classified case was dismissed after the judge ruled the special counsel had no legal authority. Clearly the president’s son has been paying attention to this turn of events — on Thursday he asked a federal judge to throw his cases out on the same grounds.

Hunter’s fate hasn’t been sealed yet, so he might not need his father to bail him out. But if he does receive a sentence, might President Biden’s last act in office be to pardon his eldest son? Watch this space…

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.