United States President Joe Biden’s expansive pardon for his son Hunter Biden on Sunday brought strong reaction from Catholic political observers and lawmakers alike, including criticism from Republicans and some members of his own Democratic Party. Source: OSV News.
Some also defended President Biden’s action as support for Hunter, his only surviving son since the 2015 death of his eldest, Beau Biden, and cited concern about his fate under the new Trump administration.
But commentators also pointed out every US president has broad authority to issue pardons and commutations for federal crimes.
Mr Biden’s pardon marked a reversal of his previous statements that he would not do so.
The move comes as allies of President-elect Donald Trump have indicated they would seek to prosecute political rivals as revenge for criminal prosecutions of the former president.
“Every president has the right to issue pardons and commutations,” Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, who critically observes the modern American presidency, said.
“In this case, President Biden’s action overturns what he said in the past, that he wouldn’t issue a pardon to his son,” he said. “The hypocrisy of the decision is not only telling but also troubling.”
Democratic Senator Peter Welch of Vermont wrote on X, “President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is, as the action of a loving father, understandable – but as the action of our nation’s Chief Executive, unwise.”
The pardon spares the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions, with his sentencing previously set for later this month.
Catholic activists are seeking a number of actions from Mr Biden in his final days in office, including calling on him to commute existing death sentences of federal prisoners.
FULL STORY
Biden’s controversial pardon of son Hunter brings mixed reaction, potential consequences (By Kate Scanlon, OSV News via Catholic Review)
