 "Hunter Biden gets presidential pardon: What were the charges against him?")
Outgoing US President Joe Biden has reversed his earlier public promise by granting a presidential pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on tax and weapons charges. The decision spares Hunter from potential prison time and comes just a month before Biden hands over the White House to Republican Donald Trump, and weeks before Hunter’s scheduled sentencing.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice. Once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden said in a statement.
Hunter Biden, the eldest son of Joe Biden, has had a troubled history involving substance abuse. Earlier this year, he was convicted on two counts: making a false statement during a gun purchase and tax evasion.
Gun charges against Hunter Biden
Prosecutors alleged that in 2018, Hunter Biden purchased a Colt Cobra .38 handgun while addicted to crack cocaine. Under US federal law, drug users are prohibited from owning firearms. Hunter also falsely stated on the background check form that he was not a drug user.
David Weiss, the Trump-appointed US attorney in Delaware, began investigating Hunter Biden in 2018 and continued overseeing the case even after Joe Biden became president in 2020.
During the trial in Delaware, Hallie Biden, Hunter’s widowed sister-in-law and romantic partner at the time, testified about the gun purchase. Hallie, who claimed Hunter introduced her to crack cocaine, said she had found the gun in his truck’s console and discarded it in a trash can in panic.
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In September 2023, Hunter was indicted on three counts: lying to a licensed gun dealer, falsely declaring on the weapon’s form about his drug addiction, and illegally possessing a firearm for 11 days. He was convicted of these charges in June 2024.
Tax charges against Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden also faced multiple tax-related charges. In December 2023, Weiss filed nine charges against him for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2020.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began investigating Hunter’s tax filings in 2018, focusing on underreported income and unpaid taxes from foreign business dealings in Ukraine and China.
In June 2023, Hunter attempted to negotiate a plea deal to avoid prison time. Under the proposed deal, he would plead guilty to two tax charges, and the weapons charge would be dropped if he stayed out of trouble. However, US District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected the deal, citing concerns about its structure and the extent of immunity it offered.
Prosecutors claimed that Hunter spent extravagantly on “drugs, escorts, girlfriends, luxury hotels, rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other personal items—essentially everything except paying his taxes.”
After Weiss, now a Special Counsel, filed fresh charges in December 2023, Hunter chose not to plead guilty. His legal team made another attempt at a plea deal, but it was rejected.
In September 2024, as his trial neared, Hunter pled guilty to the tax charges. “Hunter decided to enter his plea to protect those he loves from unnecessary hurt and cruel humiliation,” his lawyer said.
Can Donald Trump overturn Hunter’s pardon?
A presidential pardon in the United States is an executive action that forgives a person for a federal crime, nullifying legal consequences. While it erases penalties for the offence, it does not imply innocence.
Although Hunter Biden has received a pardon, his conviction remains on record.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has long accused the Bidens of corruption, cannot overturn Hunter’s pardon once he assumes office. Under Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution, the president’s pardon power is absolute for federal offences. There is no mechanism for Congress, the courts, or a future president to revoke or undo it.