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Many Republicans have been critical of President Joe Biden's move to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, despite Donald Trump's past acts of clemency.
On Sunday (December 1), Biden announced that he was pardoning his son, who was set to be sentenced this month for federal tax and gun convictions.
The move sparked widespread criticism from Republicans as Biden had previously said he wouldn't pardon his son. However, Biden said in a statement that he decided to pardon Hunter because he was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” and "treated differently” from people who have committed similar crimes.
The president added that his political opponents “instigated” the charges “to attack me and oppose my election.”
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. … I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision," Biden said.
Supporters pointed out that Trump had pardoned many controversial figures during his time in the White House, including Michael Flynn, a former National Security Adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over contacts with Russian officials.
During his presidency, Trump granted 237 acts of clemency, including pardons for a distant relative and several close allies. Among them was Roger Stone, a longtime confidant convicted of lying to Congress during an investigation into his attempts to contact WikiLeaks, the organization that released damaging emails about 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The charges against those pardoned ranged from financial fraud to witness tampering and beyond.
Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, was convicted of financial fraud, alleging Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and conspiring to obstruct the investigation and was pardoned by Trump. Trump also pardoned the father of his son-in-law Charles Kushner, who was convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.
More, Steve Bannon, George Papadopoulos, Albert Pirro, and Rod Blagojevich were all granted acts of clemency under the Trump administration.
In response to GOP criticism of Biden pardoning his son, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said “anyone who wants to clutch their pearls” over the president's decision should "take a look in the mirror."
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