Tag Archives: joe-biden

President Biden has Leveled the Playing Field

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https://abcnews.go.com/US/president-joe-biden-pardons-son-hunter-biden/story?id=116358693

President Joe Biden issues pardon for son Hunter Biden

President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal gun charges and is due for sentencing in December.

Despite the White House’s assurances last month that the president had no intentions of pardoning his son, the announcement came through on Sunday evening that he had pardoned him.

In a statement, he said, “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” for what he called a “miscarriage of justice.”

“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,” he wrote.

President Biden also mentioned “political opponents in Congress,” whom he credited for instigating the charges and for ensuring that a plea deal, composed in July, fell apart in August.

The statement concluded, “Here’s the truth: 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 – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”

Over the summer, a jury found the younger Biden guilty on three felony counts related to his purchase and possession of a firearm while addicted to drugs. And in September, Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to nine tax-related charges, including three felonies, on the eve of what was expected to be a lengthy and grueling trial.

For the tax charges, Hunter Biden faced up to 17 years in federal prison and $1.35 million in fines. His gun-related conviction carried a potential of up to 25 years in prison.

Hunter Biden was scheduled to face sentencing for both cases in the coming weeks – on Dec. 12 on the gun-related charges in Delaware, and Dec. 16 on the tax charges in California.

Asked about the president’s intentions to pardon Hunter Biden on Nov. 7, shortly after the election results came through in favor of Donald Trump, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”

She declined to comment on any other pardons the president may make before the end of his term, including any administration officials or people threatened by President-elect Donald Trump with legal action.

President Biden had also previously told ABC News’ David Muir that he did not intend to pardon his son, during an interview in June.

He said, at the time, that he would accept the results of the trial.

At a White House briefing in June, President Biden also stated, “I’m extremely proud of my son Hunter. He has overcome an addiction. He is — he’s one of the brightest, most decent men I know.”

He added, “I said I’d abide by the jury decision, and I will do that. And I will not pardon him.”

He released a statement on Sunday, saying, “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport. Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends. In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded.”

The statement continued, “I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”

Within an hour of President Biden’s pardon, Hunter Biden’s legal team filed perfunctory notices with the courts in both criminal cases. Attorneys wrote, “The President’s pardon moots Mr. Biden’s pending and yet to occur sentencing and entry of judgment in this case and requires an automatic dismissal of the Indictment with prejudice.”

For the record, if President Biden had issued that pardon after Kamala Harris was elected last month. I would have opposed such a move. But Donald Trump being elected means that the American people have decided once and for all that they do NOT want an ethical leadership. They WANT corruption, bigotry, cruelty and incompetence in America’s leadership, period! So President Biden has leaned his lesson and has given up; Republicans have ruthlessly treated ethical consistency as a weakness, and sought to punish Democrats like President Clinton for ethical failures, such as in his affair with Monica Lewinski, but even he had a sense of shame after owning up to that incident. Republicans like Trump have no shame whatsoever. Richard Nixon was pardoned for Watergate by Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan was never punished in any way for the Iran-Contra scandal, and President Bush Jr. was actually reelected after starting a totally needless war against Iraq.

Rules for Dems, not for Reps, amirite?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/01/statement-from-president-joe-biden-11/

Statement from President JoeBiden

Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. 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. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently. 

The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.   

No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough. 

For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: 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 – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision. 

###

 
Executive Grant of Clemency
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States of America
 
To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting:
 
Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto
 
ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN
 
A Full and Unconditional Pardon
 
For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
 
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto signed my name and caused the Pardon to be recorded with the Department of Justice.
 
Done at the City of Washington this 1st day of December in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth.

No one who watched Trump misuse his position as President from 2017 to 2021 should object to Biden doing what Trump would have done for any of his own kids in the same situation. 

When Republicans start supporting and electing ethical leaders again, I will take their whining about possible corruption in government caused or enabled by Democrats seriously. 

If Republicans like Nixon did not go to prison for Watergate and Trump does not go to prison for his criminal convictions, why should a Democrat like Hunter Biden pay any legal penalty? The playing field is now leveled for both parties.

President Biden did the Right Thing Today

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/president-joe-biden-drops-2024-presidential-race-rcna159867

President Joe Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race

Biden, after a five-decade career, faced a reckoning over his age and his ability to defeat Trump. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his party faces a historic effort to replace him.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he will end his presidential re-election campaign, bringing an abrupt and humbling conclusion to his half-century-long political career and scrambling the race for the White House less than four months before Election Day.

Biden, 81, could not reverse growing sentiment within his party that he was too frail to serve and destined to lose to Donald Trump in November. He backed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee.

“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted on X. “I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”

Biden thanked Harris for “being an extraordinary partner” in his letter and then endorsed her in a subsequent post.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden posted. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”

Biden and Harris spoke multiple times Sunday ahead of the president’s announcement, according to a source familiar with the campaign.

In a statement, Harris thanked Biden for “his extraordinary leadership” and his “remarkable legacy of achievement.”

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.

Biden — who for weeks had insisted publicly that he planned to stay in the race — told his senior team he had changed his mind about continuing his campaign at 1:45 p.m. ET, according to a source with direct knowledge. The tweet announcing his decision was sent at 1:46 p.m.

His withdrawal caps a singular national political career, bookended by Richard Nixon’s fall and Trump’s rise. He mounted four presidential bids. He spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate representing tiny Delaware. He rose to the chairmanships of the powerful Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees. And he served eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president.

‘Great public servant’

Reactions from politicians quickly began pouring in.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a post on X that Biden “has been an extraordinary, history-making president — a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans.”

“He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents,” said Newsom, who was one of the most prominent Biden surrogates. Newsom has been floated as a possible Democratic presidential contender, but threw his support behind Harris hours after the announcement, saying in a post on X that “no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another prominent Democrat talked about as a future national candidate, called Biden a “great public servant” in a post on X.

“My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan,” Whitmer wrote.

First lady Jill Biden reposted her husband’s announcement with heart emojis. “Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she was supportive of whatever road he chose,” said her communications director, Elizabeth Alexander.  

Across the aisle, Republicans slammed the move and many called on him to resign from office, days after the completion of a Republican National Convention where speaker after speaker slammed the Biden-Harris ticket.

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.

In a brief phone interview with NBC News, Trump reacted to Biden’s decision, calling the president “the worst president in the history of the United States by far.”

When asked whether he was surprised by Biden’s decision, Trump said that Biden “should never have been there in the first place.”

“He should have stayed in his basement,” Trump said.

In a fundraising email, Trump’s campaign said that Biden “quit the race in complete disgrace.”

An unprecedented decision

Biden’s decision to exit the race less than a month before his party’s convention and a few months before voters head to the polls is unprecedented in the modern political era. The last sitting president to abandon a re-election bid was Lyndon Johnson, whose expansion of the Vietnam War in the 1960s split the Democratic Party. But Johnson’s announcement came in March 1968 — eight months before that election.

“We’re in uncharted waters,” said Barbara Perry, a presidential studies professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “No president has dropped out or died this close to the convention.”

Replacing Biden atop the Democratic ticket is likely to set off internal Democratic tremors as ambitious officials maneuver to become his successor. Factions have already formed around Harris, Whitmer and Newsom.

 

Harris, who at 59 is 22 years younger than Biden, would seem to be the heir apparent. She broke a barrier as the first female vice president. A woman of color, she enjoys strong support among African Americans, a loyal piece of the Democratic coalition. Overall, though, Harris’ approval rating stood at only 32% in an NBC News poll released earlier this month.

“There’s no one you can name right now who is an obvious substitute,” Perry said. “That’s what makes this so uncertain and chaotic.”

Unlike Republican delegates, who are bound to their candidate, Democratic delegates aren’t, so they are free to do what they want at the convention. Biden could have some influence over the delegates, but they could vote for a different candidate than his chosen pick, pending any rule changes at the convention meant to address this unprecedented situation. The rules currently say that the delegates simply have to “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

__________________________

Biden has proven, once and for all, that he is a better man than Trump. And it doesn’t surprise me that Republicans are angry over this move. Kamala Harris taking on Trump directly and tearing him apart in public will be their worst nightmare!