this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Summary

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, reversing his prior stance against using executive clemency.

The pardon covers Hunter’s federal gun conviction and tax evasion guilty plea, sparking political controversy.

Biden cited political attacks and a “miscarriage of justice” as reasons for his decision, emphasizing his son’s recovery from addiction and the targeting of his family.

Critics argue the move undermines the judicial process, while supporters view it as within Biden’s constitutional powers.

This decision shields Hunter from potential prison time as Biden nears the end of his presidency.

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[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 33 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Considering Hunter Biden was the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt, and not an actual criminal. I have no problem with this,

[–] kava@lemmy.world 36 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

and not an actual criminal

yeah it can happen to anybody. sometimes you just forget to pay $1.4M you owe in taxes from the millions of dollars of dubious payments from overseas organizations (Burisma Holdings) owned by Russian oligarchs (Mykola Zlochevsky) that just happened to be investigated, tried and convicted of corruption

you know what message this sends to us plebs? they can do whatever the fuck they want. all we can do is sit and watch

[–] btaf45@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

sometimes you just forget to pay $1.4M you owe in taxes

That's not what he was convicted of. It was for buying a gun. That's a bullshit witch hunt. If it was for tax evasion I would be more upset.

[–] kava@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Robert Hunter Biden (Hunter Biden) pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles this afternoon to all counts in a nine-count indictment, including three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses. There was no plea agreement.

He pled guilty. Read more: https://www.justice.gov/sco-weiss/pr/robert-hunter-biden-convicted-three-felony-tax-offenses-and-six-misdemeanor-tax-offenses

He was playing money and tax evasion games. Getting millions of dollars of payments from a sketchy sources in Eastern Europe through his law firm and then what would be called embezzling from his company under different circumstances

This is not normal people behavior. This is most likely the tip of the iceberg. It's actually a nice little sneak peek into how much money flows between different oligarchs (including US ones) through these sketchy illicit channels

This guy absolutely is a criminal. There's no question about it. The trial probably is politically motivated too.

[–] btaf45@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

He pled guilty. Read more: https://www.justice.gov/sco-weiss/pr/robert-hunter-biden-convicted-three-felony-tax-offenses-and-six-misdemeanor-tax-offenses

You're right. Knowing this is about tax evasion, it does piss me off a little now

But if you are mad about this, how come you weren't mad when Treason Trump pardoned Rob Blogorovich which was a hugely bigger deal? He was a Democrat which means Trump did that for the sole purpose of normalizing corruption.

[–] kava@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

why the whataboutism? why the compulsive need to downplay the severity of this?

yes, trump is a criminal too. and he has pardoned criminals and will likely pardon more criminals.

[–] btaf45@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

why the compulsive need to downplay the severity of this?

Why was the severity of Treason Trump's pardon of the much more serious crimes of Blogorovich downplayed?

Why do YOU care more about this pardon than you cared about the much worse pardon of Blogorovich?

Maybe in order to know the answer of your question you need to know the answer to my question. The reason why others are less outraged than you is they see that your outrage is selective.

YOUR lack of outrage about the the way more serious Bogorovich pardon is way worse than my lack of outrage about this.

[–] kava@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

the topic of this thread is Biden pardoning his son, who was guilty of serious financial crimes.

you're the one being selective in your outrage, not me. i disapprove of all these guys.

the thing with Biden though, is that the DNC frames themselves as the good guys. You know, Trump is a corrupt criminal, bla bla bla.

So when Trump does, it isn't really a surprise. It's what you come to expect from someone like him. I'm not approving of Trump's pardons because I'm mentioning Biden's

The issue is that Biden promised various times that he would not pardon his son. But now that he has nothing left to lose (his career is over, and probably the country is doomed to fascism anyways) so fuck it. Integrity is for schmucks anyway, right? i guess the moral of the story is make sure you have a powerful dad

personally I'm not even outraged about it. I'm glad he did it so that it's more clear to everyday Americans that they're all a bunch of crooks

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago

If the law truly means nothing, then may it be exposed as such and may all do as they will.

[–] Earflap@reddthat.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

Mykola was convicted before Hunter got involved.

But since you believe this actually matters for some reason, what did Jared Kushner get 2 billion dollars from Saudi Arabia for after being appointed national security advisor to the president (against intelligence advisement) and given sci top secret clearance?

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 12 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah no actual crimes that is why he plead guilty to all of them.

He can both have committed the crimes and have only been attacked as a member of the upper class because of a political jab. The judicial system being used for petty revenge doesn't make it better when it mostly just discredits the system and the position of the president.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s not like Hunter was a convicted felon serving as President, or any political office. If y’all want to try to throw the rock of corruption, you might want to leave that glass house or step away from the windows

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

Indeed, if Trump can skate for stuff he actually fucking did on nationa television, Hunter doesn't need to go to jail for the results of a witch hunt.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

You do realize they had solid evidence of. at least, one 3rd degree felony, ~~owning a firearm when previous convictions bar you from doing so~~ committed fraud on the paperwork to own a gun. right? He has been in criminal trouble, doing things many people are spending decades in prison for, and has never had a serious issue because daddy is Joe Biden. You know, one of the biggest signatories to the drug war, that Joe Biden? Fuck him.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

He was not a felon. That rule applies to felony convictions. And can be repaired by the state that convicted you.

The charges were for buying a gun while being an addict.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Ok, I was wrong about it being barred. He got a felony fraud charge for lying on the paperwork to own the gun. It is still a crime, and he still did it. The charges aren't fake. My point still stands that he is going to not have anything happen, again, because he is a nepo-baby, fuck him. There are people in prison for this, right now, and his dad was one of the biggest political agents behind the types of laws he broke. Rules for thee, and all that.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I don't care who his dad is the law is a thought crime that can get you put in prison on nothing more than innuendo. Make a bad joke about drugs after going to a shooting range? You too can go to prison.

And it's rarely used as anything more than an add on charge because of its constitutional dubiousness. We shouldn't be okay with this happening to anyone.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I never agreed with the law. I am mad that he broke a law, one his dad fought for, and he isn't going to go to prison for it like I would. The law its self is a whole other matter than what is being discussed here, about him being pardoned, after being convicted of a crime, because daddy is the president, with the extra poignancy that daddy is one of the major reasons that law exists.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Biden was at Syracuse University in 1968. He would go on to be elected to the County Council. He didn't become a Senator until 1973. So how exactly was he, "one of the major reasons that law exists", when he wasn't even an elected official at the time.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Didn't say he wrote it, or that he voted to initially pass it. I said he is a major reason it exists. This law has come under fire numerous times, and Joe has always supported it, rather than supporting over-turning it. Even as recently as 2023, after the supreme court decided it was unconstitutional, he still staunchly showed his support for it.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

with the extra poignancy that daddy is one of the major reasons that law exists.

Funny, that sounds a lot like he either created it or filibustered its repeal. Do you have evidence he did a filibuster? Or is this another thing Fox News threw out there to smear him? Because that sentence sure doesn't sound like he's just got the cheerleading poms poms out.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

From what I have read, after making my original correction, it has been on the line to be removed, or changed, a handful of times over the decades. Biden has always voted in support, and worked to convince other congress members that it should stay. So, yeah, he has used his political capital in order to make sure it stayed in, at least as recently as the negotiations of the 1994 crime bill.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

So cheerleading poms poms at most.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Then cheer leading and pom poms is how most politicians get things done.

[–] btaf45@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

My point still stands that he is going to not have anything happen, again, because he is a nepo-baby, fuck him

What actually happened is that the only reason he was prosecuted was because he was a high profile person.

Hunter Biden was not above the law in the case. He was below the law.

[–] kreskin@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

He was not a felon

Not true. Hunter Biden was convicted of 3 felony tax evasion charges and 6 misdemeanor tax evasion charges totalling 1.4 million in intentional fraud. Plus three felony charges of lying on a gun registration. He absolutely was a 6 time felon awaiting sentencing. The decision whether he was a felon or not was already settled by a jury of his peers.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

The above comment was deleted, but they were referring to the felony bar to purchasing a firearm. Which is why that's what my comment discusses.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago

Yes, but the "fraud" was him just saying he had no drugs in his system, for a gun he only owned for 11 days.

And as many legal scholars have pointed out, no one really ever gets charged for this, it's just sorta "on the books" with its use against Hunter Biden being one of the only times the law has ever been enforced, and it was only enforced to score a political point with the far right.

Selective enforcement is wrong, no matter if you're the President's son or just another face in the crowd in the most poverty stricken town in America.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world -4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You do realize they had solid evidence of. at least, one 3rd degree felony, ~~owning a firearm when previous convictions bar you from doing so~~ committed fraud on the paperwork to own a gun. right? He has been in criminal trouble, doing things many people are spending decades in prison for, and has never had a serious issue because daddy is Joe Biden. You know, one of the biggest signatories to the drug war, that Joe Biden? Fuck him.

reposting my old comment here because it deleted when I saved the edit