Post

He's been clean for 5 years. Has the trump one?

Not sure I understand your point over Hunter being in prison. It wasn't likely to make a difference, but Biden pardoning his son will possibly be weaponised.

* in fact the entire family should go on a 4 year vacation travel see the world write a tell all book. Spill the tea on Netanyahu and Putin

I suppose if it was me I'd say if the American people are prepared to forgive Trump for his mistakes then I'm sure they'll forgive me for forgiving my son... What would Jesus do? He was a maverick...

His political career is over so why should he care?

Probably going to just focus on the human part, tbh.

Losing a presidential election to a convicted criminal was more politically illiterate though

Yup. You’ve got a point - as much as I hate to say it.

We get it, yes. But some of us feel heartbroken all over again. No reason why Biden should be heroic in the face of such an outcome. Yet some people are. My first reaction was: now Trump has truly won and decency is truly dead. I am wrong though, because people like Alexei Navalny exist(ed).

Also: think of the harm pardoning his son will do to the Democratic Party, say the leaders of the Democratic Party who unceremoniously dumped Biden.

Trump doesn't need to, Supreme Court's already given him carte blanche to do whatever he wants and justify it later.

Ah right. So that gives you the extra layer of security as a result presumably. Appreciated, thanks.

Yes butbtheyvare tightening the rules

I love it. America doesn’t care about truth and honesty. Here’s a little taste from our side. Joe did the right thing. I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t.

By doing this he is acknowledging that justice will be capricious and at the whim of the executive. If he thought that this action would make things worse by emboldening the next administration he wouldn't do it. Things can't get worse.

Nailed it.

Yes, agree.

are they, since when did the Dems encourage an overturning of democracy and threaten to jail journalists and rivals ? I missed that ?

Fuck off.

The same, as in, demonstrably different in scale and gravity of abuses? Wrong 3/10 Vs wrong 12/10

You know what France are like. They’ll probably deport him.

Lets face it, the USA voted Trump into power, and now has no say in who he appoints to any position, so many of the voters didn't know, or didn't listen to people telling them what would happen

Opinions aren’t any more divided than the results the election. MAGA is mad because they wanted Trump to torture/humiliate/kill Hunter in prison. Decent people are glad Trump won’t have that chance.

I have zero problem with this pardon. Good for him.

If he didnt, i am sure Trump and his Rethuglicans would go after him …. Life imprisonment at the very least

Perfect summary

He's a convicted rapist. He will never be a legitimate president.

No, no one is saying that.

Trump had announced his candidate as US ambassador to France 24 hours earlier; he had previously pardoned him of, among other things, tax evasion. He also happens to be his son-in-law's father. America was lost, morally, on November 5th.

That is what the voters chose

Yes, it is.

And even then more because it trapped them at their homes and stopped the economy. Not so much from a public health view. (Aware not all Americans but the ones who swung the election to Biden)

I don't agree with what he's done but I can't blame him either. I think that's what Dmitry's getting at too. Why sacrifice your son on an altar of ethics that the nation has already burned to the ground? There's no apostle to write a gospel about you.

There is rarely a single decisive moment in any such change, more a gradual slide as things that were once unthinkable become tolerable, then acceptable, then normal.

people forget what an absolutely pivotal election 2000 was. and yes, it was brazen. but then, once you've decided that it's ok to have politically biased, partisan appointed judges then... where else is that going to lead

It was NOT due process. It was merely legal. Try to keep up.

And if trump hadn't been elected, Biden would not have pardoned him.

Biden's pardon makes no difference whatsoever. Trump's going to be Trump, whether or not Hunter Biden is in a jail cell. That's pretty clear.

"norms" aren't going to stop him. His first term showed that.

Welcome to this alternate universe! You will find that the history of this one differs from your own. Please go to a library and read up on it.

It's adorable that you think this is the worst abuse of the power of pardon

You don't know what the Iran Contra pardons are and it shows.

No, there is no "separation of powers" when it comes to pardons. The president has the exclusive power to pardon whoever he wants, for any reason. Period. Always has. Neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has any oversight. You are recycling talking points that have no relevance here.

I'm not sure this decision is going prevent the Republicans who control the House and Senate, or the 6-3 Conservative SCOTUS, from restraining the Trump Administration.

I think that this post/string shows a certain naïveté. Trump’s is going to do what Trump is going to do.

Curious your opinion of trumps pardons of Stone, Manafort and Kushner amidst many other dodgy pardons. Kushner, soon to be Ambassador to France is particularly rich.

The pardon is okay as long as Biden doesn't nominate Hunter to be the ambassador to France in his next term as president. See: Charles Kushner

I think that was out the window with the Eddie Gallagher pardon and reinstatement to the Navy

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Lol, come on man.

Wait till you find out who Trump pardoned.

"for those who would not let him" name those people who have such power.

Is this your first time here?

Due process is doing a lot of work here. Trump and MAGA threatened Weiss outright for the plea deal. Any thoughts David?

What ‘each person stands for’ couldn’t really be better reflected than by the way the majority vote. But applying the term ‘corrupt’ to anything that Biden has done here, or before, really requires quite a lot of scrutiny.

Besides, in accepting the pardon, Hunter Biden by definition accepts the guilt of his conviction, even leaving aside the ongoing tax investigations (which have continued all through his father's term as president so presumably aren't entirely politically motivated).

Why would corruption be "proper" in such circumstances?

> Trump is squeamish about violence ..... ........... ....................

Anyone who voted for Trump or sat out the election made a choice that the rule of law is meaningless. I stand for embracing the arbitrary nature of this prosecution with a recognition that the rule of law is now a weapon.

Hunter was only investigated and convicted Because he IS Joe Bidens' son. Period....I am so GLAD that president Biden pardoned him! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

It's still wrong I do agree. But from what I've seen the behaviour of a predecessor or the decision of a court is viewed as "politically motivated" and devalued. It doesn't matter as the states is now a bipartisan with very few undecided left to frown and punish the worst of two.

Jo Biden should never have been put in this position in the 1st place. Not excusing Hunter Biden, but his 'crimes' were against himself. Agent Orange's crimes have been against individuals, the nation and by extension the world. In any other county, Agent Orange would be in jail for high treason.

Perfectly put.

Well they’ve already forgotten that he pardoned Manafort, Flynn, de Souza, Kushner etc. he’ll pardon Bannon and the other insurrectionists (beside himself) almost immediately.

Facts!!! Facts!!!

Apart from having to look at his face, yes it would!

Sadly, this will disenfranchise more Americans. If only Biden had focused on saving the justice system, not his kin

Ford pardoned Nixon. Trump Pardoned Kushner's father and other criminals. There's no norm, never has been.

Yes, very real chance that future Democratic Presidents on their way out of office also pardon their children for non-violent offences. The Republic hath fallen.

I agree. He has just normalized what Trump is about to do -- on a much bigger scale. Trump is a real crook.

What really disappoints me is Biden's messaging. He could have been human about it but he cast aspersions over the conviction. THAT is where he really sank to Trump's level. Trump would throw anyone, including his kids, under any passing bus to save his own skin.

MAGATS will never appreciate what Biden has done for this country and they won't give him any kudos for "doing the right thing" When they go low we go high didn't get us anywhere. I'm glad he pardoned Hunter

Fair point.

The best defence of this shit so far.

…and you know damn well that Trump will pardon many people who have broken the law. In most cases a lot worse than drug use / gun possession. Such as actually trying to overthrow government

Will they be reducing her salary and benefits package then?

Perfect put, particularly as it was a vindicate prosecution.

Yep this is exactly right. The fuck I would let my kid go to prison over some fairly victimless crimes stemming from his drug addiction if I had the power to stop it. If you say otherwise you’re either full of shit or an asshole.

Great point

After that announcement, I'd have written out that pardon as quickly as I can type and sign it for my kid, and hypocrisy and institutions be damned.

The whole concept of a Presidential Pardon seems dubious to me.

And that shows us the measure of the man 'theyre all the same "

If they’re really bothered by the whole presidential pardon thing they’ll have the power to change it, unless it’s just the democrats using it that upsets them.

If people had voted Harris, Hunter wouldn't have been at risk of rotting in jail as a result of Trump's performative cruelty.