WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump’s first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.
I mean, i can see why. What are a few drugs, tax fraud and gun felony next to being cumplicit in the genocide of an entire people.
I bet Biden is proud of his son, for being a little better than him. Hopefully, Hunter’s son will only get speeding tickets.
Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump’s first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.
…after Americans voted that norms and respect for the rule of law don’t mean shit. Fuck 'em, I would have done the same thing.
If he and his ilk of disgraced democrats had a reputation to save this would have been devastating for it.
I feel so betrayed rn… how could Dark Brandon do this?
Honestly, at this point, what do those pledges even matter? Integrity is not worth much in politics nowadays. People will just vote whomever makes the bigger promises.
Biden is proving he is willing to violate the norms to bail out their criminal family. But not use those powers for the average American.
It is certainly impressive Democrats are willing to waive this away as a minor thing. Wasn’t their entire point that they are not the fascistic party but committed to law and order?
and? Nothing he could have done would have made you support him so why in the everloving fuck should they care that you disapprove?
Now say that again for everything trump has done and I might actually believe you have any actual sense of reality.
I don’t think you understand the critique. The Supreme Court literally gave the office of the president immunity for crimes committed in execution of the duty of the office. Biden promised to not use that new power because he was deeply principled. That means that even though he and the entire DNC are operating on rhetoric that says DJT is literally an enemy of democracy and freedom and America, they won’t do anything about it even though he’s a convicted felon. No action whatsoever.
But he will break his own promises to pardon his son. So he’s really not principled.
So if he’s not that principled, and he has the power to stop the fascism, but he doesn’t, and he has the power to stop putting infants in solitary, but he doesn’t, and he has the power to stop putting asylum seekers in solitary, but he doesn’t, and he has the power to stop sending military surplus to cops, but he doesn’t, and so so so many other things…
If it’s not his principles, then what is it? It must be desire. Either he desires expediency over saving the country and ending torture, or he desires what the right is bringing and he desires torture.
There is no actual way to have the power to stop these things, to say you’re too principled to do anything about it, and then violate those principles for personal gain a few months later without the conclusion being that you never wanted the good things in the first place you just campaigned on lies and you’re in support of the outcomes.
But Trump. The only response.
And a 100% valid one that you are being willingly obtuse towards. Open your eyes and see that although all politicians have and always will suck and lie, Trump is a traitor. I would elect any non-MAGA Republican for 8 years over Trump for four more. He is not a legitimate politician
Pointing out that republicans do this means you are comparing Biden to republicans and saying it is acceptable for democrats as well because of this. This blatant abuse of power means Biden is now a MAGA-democrat. And you are willing to elect MAGA-democrats.
The people defending Biden know this is bullshit. They just want to believe this is a sign that Democrats are finally going to stop complaining about decorum and play hardball. It isn’t, and they won’t, but at least Joe gets to protect his kid I guess. Too bad Joe couldn’t find the will to force Garland to do his job and prosecute Trump instead.
Sycophant.
You’re out here going “Ra Ra Biden, Trump does worse” all over the fucking thread calling others sycophants? Lmao
“All over this thread…”? Two comments and I really got under your skin. You deliberately avoid understanding me or my position, are devoid of nuance, and just make shit up to suit your narrative.
Fuck off back to your troll farm.
Sycophant.
You deliberately avoid understanding me or my position
lol
Everyone I don’t like is a bot, the sycophants guide to political discussion
No, the Republicans are the self proclaimed Law & Order party.
I love how pearls get clutched when a Dem does it. Where were you the last 8 years?
The republicans have been getting stuff done by abusing their presidential powers. Democrats were the supposed “law and order party”. who “didn’t want to abuse their powers”. Throwback to Obama doing nothing because “law and order”
Republicans have been pulling these blatant violations for ages. Trump pardoned Blackwater criminals on his way out.
Supposedly however Biden couldn’t load the courts or achieve anything because “norms and values”.
Democrats achieved nothing and at the end took a steaming dump on those values they used as the excuse for doing nothing
We’ve spent the last decade seeing repeatedly that the law doesn’t mean shit for the red team; is anyone actually surprised that blue is saying ‘fuck it’ now, too?
…but since we’re just openly abusing presidential power now, any chance he’ll use it to get something actually useful done, or we stopping at individual favors?
My take is that he thinks his son wouldnt be safe in prison under Trump. And that is a reasonable assumption imo.
All the immigrants will not be safe unter trump also, but nobody cares about them do they?
Apparently not enough cared to vote for them. You know, they can’t afford eggs bro
Just wait for the tariffs to kick in, then they will live as kings and there will be no economic problems ever again /s
Are they charged or convicted of a federal crime where a pardon is even relevant? It’s not a power to grant citizenships or a genie wish.
Now, the whole ‘president can down whatever they like as an official act’ that the SCOTUS gave recently is another matter…
That is the bed that Biden made when he decided to massively incarcerate poor people to get some free labor for corporations.
Is anyone safe in prison?
Is anyone safe under Trump?
Cringe take
Another banger from the party of checks and balances.
Of all the things he could have done, he did this?
I could give a damn, but you know, it’s an overall race to the bottom
Reading this I just realised I can no longer tell if Americans mean could or couldn’t when they type could.
I couldn’t tell you why
He was always going to do it.
My wife read this to me last night.
Wife: So apparently Biden pardoned his son
Me: Cool. Can’t blame him.
Wife: Of course people are say…
Me: Fuck ‘em.
Wife: You know because he promised…
Me: Fuck ‘em.
Hell yea brother’ president is above the law!
You talk to your wife like that?
Lame duck don’t give a fuck.
I can’t believe a PRESIDENT would LIE like that!
-Fox, probably
In all fairness, I doubt he remembers making that promise in the first place.
So what? Half you all voted for a felon rapist. Don’t pretend you have morals.
It was only 70M, nowhere near half of Americans.
So even more reason not to give a shit about their opinion. They are shit AND not a majority.
You sound like a DNC strategist
What you’re exercising here is called whataboutism, and it’s a really shitty thing to do.
So is sexual assault, and the next president has done that too
Ok, and? How does that have any bearing on what Biden did?
The author of the crime bill, responsible for the massive incarceration and enslavement of poor people in the US who spoke to congress about not giving a single shit about the circumstances of people who committed crimes, lock em up first ask questions later, just pardoned his son before sentencing because he’s a poor widdle misunderstood boi who didn’t know any better and his circumstances were so tough, what with having a senator dad with a lot of money.
Fucking blue MAGA I stg
And the current president molested his own daughter. She wrote in her diary that she had to wait til he went to sleep to shower, or he’d get in with her.
Off-topic, …with almost everybody having a cell phone in hands why do we still elect anybody to represent us? It’s because that’s how it always been?
We don’t build bridges by committee, why would politics be better?
It’s a specific skill set to understand legalese and the processes
Because it’s hard for a committee of 334,000,000 to make decisions? Maybe I’m misunderstanding your question though. Are you suggesting more of a bottom-up, local-first way of running things? I think there would still have to be representatives at various levels, for the same reason.
Centralized power doesn’t let go without force
Legislation is still pretty complicated, having professional legislators makes sense just as a technical profession.
We could certainly stand to have more direct input though!
TBF I don’t think a system of thousands of referendums would be much better. What I take bigger issue with is the electoral college, but I don’t have a good solution in mind. Popular vote wouldn’t be much better, especially because of how it would affect campaigning.
