The president of the United States granted a presidential pardon to Hunter Biden, who was found guilty by the court in two criminal cases - even though the pope had previously promised not to do so.
US President Joe Biden granted a presidential pardon to his son, the president announced in a statement from the White House on Sunday evening, before traveling to Angola for an official visit.
According to his announcement, Joe Biden signed the pardon order on Sunday. The president said he kept his promise to not interfere in the federal judiciary's decision-making process when he took office, despite what he considered the prosecution of his son to be selective and unfair.
Among other things, Joe Biden justified it by saying that the prosecutor's office almost never brings criminal charges in cases related to the purchase of weapons of the weight committed by his son.
In relation to another criminal case against his son, Joe Biden believed that failure to pay taxes due to serious addiction usually has no criminal consequences if the failure is made up by the person concerned afterwards.
"It's clear that Hunter was treated differently," Joe Biden said.
Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury in Delaware in July of possession of a prohibited weapon and making a false statement on an official federal form after a trial. The 54-year-old businessman bought a firearm in the fall of 2018, during his severe drug addiction. According to American law, a person affected by addiction cannot legally own a gun, and upon purchase, a declaration of the disqualifying factors must be made in the knowledge of criminal liability.
The judge in the case originally scheduled the announcement of the sentence for November 13, then postponed it to December.
Hunter Biden went on trial in California this fall for failing to pay about $1.4 million in taxes. However, the criminal trial did not take place because the president's son unexpectedly admitted his guilt as part of a plea bargain.
The judge scheduled the announcement of the penalty in the tax case for December 16.
Before the November 5 election, even as a presidential candidate and after his withdrawal, Joe Biden repeatedly stated that he had no intention of pardoning his son.
President-to-be Donald Trump, also during the election campaign, said that if elected president, he would be willing to consider clemency in the case of his predecessor's son, because he considers the process harmful for the country.
Cover photo: Hunter Biden, the son of the US president (j2) with his lawyer Abbe Lowell (j)
Source: MTI/EPA/Michael Reynolds
