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Times of Wayne County
P.O. Box 608 • Macedon, NY 14502
Phone: (315) 986-4300
Columns

Pardon me

December 7, 2024
/ by Ron Holdraker

 You have to love all the hub-bub over President Biden’s presidential pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.

The President has repeatedly stated that he would not interfere in the criminal case and offer to pardon his son.

Now that he has, the political pundits have jumped all over the President and have had a heyday of snide remarks, including some from the President’s own Party.

Now, for the unscrambling of the event. Hunter was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to separate tax-related charges, and was scheduled to be sentenced in both cases later this month.

President Joe Biden and his family discussed whether to pardon Hunter Biden during their time together in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News Monday.

Senior White House staff learned of the possibility of a pardon on Saturday evening. President Biden made his final decision on Sunday, the source said.

In his statement on Sunday evening, Biden contended his son was "unfairly" prosecuted after pressure from his political opponents.

"For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice -- and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further," President Biden said.

So, let’s take a look and the charges and the prosecution.

Legal Analyst Aron Solomon wrote in Newsweek: "Let’s first address why the pardon was the right decision. Hunter Biden’s legal troubles, while serious, were not particularly extraordinary in the grand scheme of federal prosecutions. He faced charges of failing to pay taxes on time and illegally owning a firearm while struggling with addiction. While these offenses are not trivial, they hardly make him the criminal mastermind Republicans have portrayed him to be... Hunter Biden proceedings were less about his actions and more about the political theater surrounding them."

Basically, anyone else convicted of these crimes, all misdemeanors offenses, probably would have received probation since Hunter had no prior criminal history. That being said, he was an admitted drug addict and had several sketchy dealings overseas. Buying a gun,while a drug addict is never okay. I would encourage lawmakers and such to imprison anyone caught with an illegal handgun to a minimum one year in prison. This would encourage drug rehab and at the same time send a stiff warning to illegal gun possession.

Anyway, back to "Pardon me".

President Biden was caught behind a rock and a hard place. If he said "Yes" prior to the election on pardoning his son, Republicans would have had a field day.

Before you make any harsh decisions on either the pardon, or Hunter, let me inform you that all the back taxes Hunter accumulated have been paid.

Now, as for the ‘pardon’ situation, during his first term President Trump pardoned a whole lot more of his political cronies, 143 pardons and 94 commutations. Some of those  include:

Michael Flynn – Former National Security Adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over contacts with a Russian official. Roger Stone for lying to Congress regarding his attempts to contact WikiLeaks after the website released damaging emails about Trump’s 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton.

Paul Manafort – Former Trump campaign chairman convicted of financial fraud, alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and conspiring to obstruct the investigation.

Charles Kushner – Father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering, and recently nominated by Trump as the U.S.’s Ambassador to France.

Steve Bannon – Former Trump adviser charged with fraud related to a border wall fundraising campaign. Pardoned as one of Trump’s final acts in office.

George Papadopoulos – Former Trump campaign adviser convicted of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries prior to the 2016 election.

Albert Pirro – The ex-husband of Trump ally Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News Channel host, convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion charges.

Rod Blagojevich – Former Illinois governor convicted of corruption for trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. Trump commuted his sentence.

Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) – Rapper convicted on firearms charges. Trump commuted his sentence.

Also...members of far-right extremist groups, former police officers...an Olympic gold medal swimmer. ..and active duty U.S. Marines.

They are among the hundreds of people who have been convicted in the massive prosecution of the Jan 6, 2021, riot in the three years since the stunned nation watched the U.S. Capitol attack unfold on live TV.

Washington’s federal courthouse remains flooded with trials, guilty plea hearings and sentencings, stemming from what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history. And the hunt for suspects is far from over.

“We cannot replace votes and deliberation with violence and intimidation,” Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters on Thursday.

In the three years since the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,265 defendants across nearly all 50 states and D.C. and secured sentences of incarceration for more than 460 people.

Trump has suggested he will pardon all.

This is just the beginning of the pardon wheel to come.

In retrospect the promises of disassembling of the Justice Department and the FBI by Trump and his appointees, puts Hunter Biden into a class all by itself.

Oh, and remember Trump and his previous courts have deemed any crimes associated with the former and upcoming rehash president are exempt from any and all crimes that have, or could occur during the next four years.

Yes, folks, watch for the ‘pardon me’  merry-go-round to begin anew. 

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Times of Wayne County

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P.O. Box 608 • Macedon, NY 14502
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