‘A president…who has really defended the rule of law kind of saying, “Well, maybe not right now,”’ Dunn said of Biden’s rationale.
A former senior adviser to President Joe Biden is not a fan of the sweeping pardon he gave his son Hunter to prevent him from serving jail time for tax and gun crimes.
Anita Dunn, speaking at the New York Times dealbook summit earlier this month, took issue with Joe Biden’s justification for pardoning his son, even though she agreed with the move. In announcing the pardon, the president claimed his son was the victim of selective prosecution on gun and tax crimes, which Dunn considers “an attack on our judicial system,” and a contrast from Biden’s past messaging.
“The argument is one that I think many observers are concerned about. A president who ran to restore the rule of law, who has upheld the rule of law, who has really defended the rule of law kind of saying, ‘Well, maybe not right now,'” Dunn said.
Multiple federal judges rejected Joe Biden’s arguments about his son’s cases during the proceedings. Special counsel David Weiss prosecuted Hunter Biden on federal gun crimes in Delaware and tax crimes in California.
“I do not agree with the way it was done, I don’t agree with the timing, and I don’t agree, frankly, with the attack on our judicial system,” Dunn added.
A jury found Hunter Biden guilty in June of lying on gun paperwork about his drug usage and possessing a firearm while addicted to crack cocaine six years ago. A few months later, Biden plead guilty to nine federal tax charges for failing to pay $1.4 million of taxes in a timely manner last decade. His sentencing for both those cases was scheduled to take place in December.
The pardon immunizes Hunter from any offenses he “may have committed or taken part in” over an eleven-year period from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024, making it one of the most generous in American history. Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings began only months after the start date of the pardon.
President Biden’s choice to pardon his son came after he and the White House insisted for months that he would not do so, prompting many Republicans to blast Joe Biden for lying directly to the American people. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended her boss, claiming he only came to the decision to pardon his son over the weekend when the announcement was made.
Some Democrats similarly criticized Biden for lying about his intentions and potentially setting a bad precedent for future administration. The Democratic lawmakers did acknowledge the deeply personal nature of the decision as Joe Biden is set to depart the White House in a matter of weeks.