President Joe Biden announced the pardon on Sunday.
President Joe Biden said on Dec. 1 that he has signed “a full and unconditional pardon” for his son, Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden was charged with nine counts of federal tax evasion to the sum of $1.4 million between 2016 and 2019. He pleaded guilty to the tax charges in September after a previously negotiated plea deal fell through.
He was facing up to 17 years in prison and $1.3 million in fines, with sentencing scheduled in California for Dec. 16.
In a separate case, Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury of illegally purchasing a firearm in 2018 while using drugs, and lying about the drug use at the time of purchase. He illegally possessed the gun for 11 days. He was facing up to 25 years for the three counts, and was scheduled to be sentenced in Delaware on Dec. 4.
The pardon identified these two cases as well as any offenses that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.
With the pardon, Hunter Biden will be forgiven for any federal crimes and their associated legal penalties.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” President Biden, who leaves office on Jan. 20, 2025, said in a statement released by the White House. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
The decision marks an about-turn for President Biden, who had previously promised not to use his extraordinary presidential powers to benefit his family members.
In June, Biden ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case that he will “abide by the jury decision.”
“I will do that and I will not pardon him,” the president said.
