President-elect Donald Trump responded to President Joe Biden’s expansive pardon of his son, Hunter, calling it a “miscarriage of justice.”
Trump’s comments were echoed by a wave of criticism following the Sunday night pardon. The president and his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, both previously said Biden would not pardon his son.
“President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. “But last night he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!
Republicans have argued for years that Democrats weaponized the Justice Department against Trump. Republicans have pushed back, pointing to whistleblower reports and other evidence suggesting that Hunter received special treatment from the DOJ and helped lead an international Biden family business raking in money from entities in Ukraine, China and elsewhere.
Biden also repeatedly bashed Trump, saying no one is above the law and leading Democrats in their campaign attacks against Trump with the refrain of “no one is above the law.”
Hunter faced tax and gun-related charges, but the president’s pardon covers any potential crimes dating back to 2014, which happens to cover the years where Hunter did his overseas dealings and brought in millions of dollars to his business using the Biden name, according to House investigations.