Hunter Biden Reacts to Pardon, Says He Will Not Take It for Granted

Hunter Biden (R) and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive in federal court for jury selection for his trial on felony tax charges in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, 2024. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said he will not take the pardon issued by his father for granted.

“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,” Hunter Biden, 54, told news outlets in a Dec. 1 statement.

“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.”

President Joe Biden, 82, announced earlier on Dec. 1 that he was pardoning his son, who was convicted by a jury of illegally buying a gun in 2018 while addicted to drugs.

Jurors also found Hunter Biden guilty of lying about his drug use and illegal possession of the gun. In a separate case, he also pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

“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,” the president said.

Joe Biden added later that he believes in the justice system but also thinks that “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”

“I hope,” he wrote, “Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”

The president had previously said that he would not pardon his son.

The pardon means that Hunter Biden will not receive any prison time or other punishment for his crimes.

Hunter Biden wrote in court filings that he “received and formally accepted” his father’s pardon.

The pardon means that the cases must be dismissed and not brought again in the future, lawyers for the president’s son informed the judges handling the cases.

“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,” they stated in a notice to one of the judges.

Sentencing in the gun case was scheduled for November, but a federal judge had delayed sentencing until December. The pardon came days before the new sentencing date.

Hunter Biden was facing up to 25 years in prison for gun-related crimes and up to 17 years in prison in the tax case. He also faced fines exceeding $1 million.

The pardon drew criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, among others. Trump said it was an abuse of justice.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement, “After four years of political scolding about attempts to undermine the rule of law, President Biden has shown just how empty Democrats’ rhetoric truly is—overruling federal convictions of six felonies and six misdemeanors to protect his son’s crimes and breaking his promise to the American people.”

The decision also drew criticism from some Democrats. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), for example, said he disagreed with the president’s claims that Hunter Biden’s prosecution was politically motivated.

“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong,” Stanton said on social media platform X. “Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”

Others said they supported the move.

Eric Holder, who was the U.S. attorney general while Joe Biden was vice president, said on X that the pardon was warranted and alleged that no U.S. attorney “would have charged this case given the underlying facts.”

“After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear,” Holder wrote. “Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been—fundamentally and more fairly—a declination.”