President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was scheduled to be sentenced in two federal cases later this month. The younger Biden was convicted of federal firearms crimes and pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September. The president had earlier stated that he would not pardon his son, and his turnaround drew outrage from Republicans and some Democrats.

Today, I signed a pardon for my kid Hunter. I promised not to meddle with the Justice Department’s decision-making from the moment I assumed office, and I stuck to that promise even as I watched my son be unjustly and unfairly persecuted. Without aggravating conditions like as involvement in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never tried on felony charges based merely on how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes due to major addictions but paid them back later with interest and penalties are usually awarded non-criminal remedies. It is obvious that Hunter was treated differently.

The allegations in his cases were only brought about after several of my political opponents in Congress encouraged them to target me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully planned plea deal agreed to by the Department of Justice unravelled in court, with a number of my political opponents in Congress claiming credit for putting political pressure on the proceedings. If the plea offer had been upheld, Hunter’s issues would have been resolved in a fair and reasonable manner. No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases can conclude anything other that Hunter was picked out only because he is my son – which is incorrect. There has been an effort to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years.

For my whole career, I have adhered to a single principle: tell the American people the truth. They will be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the judicial system, but as I’ve grappled with it, I’ve come to believe that raw politics has infiltrated this process, resulting in a miscarriage of justice — and after making this conclusion this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any longer. I think Americans understand why a father and President would make this decision.

A full and unconditional pardon. For those offences against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offences charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States Dis IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have signed my name and caused the Pardon to be recorded with the Department of Justice. Done at the City of Washington on the first day of December in the year of of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth.