Transcript of US President Biden issues official pardon for son Hunter | BBC News

The US President, Joe Biden, has pardoned his son, Hunter, ahead of his sentencing for firearms and tax offenses. The President said his son had been selectively and unfairly prosecuted to try to break him, and argued that raw politics had led to a miscarriage of justice. In a statement, President Biden said he had kept his word not to interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, saying, I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively and unfairly prosecuted. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently. No reasonable person who looks the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son, and that is wrong. President Biden continues, There has been an effort to break Hunter. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me, and There's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough. He goes on to say, 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.

It ends by saying, I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision. There's also been a statement in response from Hunter Biden. Let me bring you some of that. Now, he says, I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction. Mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport. He continues, Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety because of my faith and unwavering support of family and friends. He adds, I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering. Now, for more on this recent development, I'm joined by Seema Meta, a politics reporter for the LA Times. Seema, thanks for joining me today to talk about this. But did this pardon come as a surprise?

I think it was surprising, but it's not surprising, if that makes any sense. We know that President Biden lost his son, has stood by his son throughout his many struggles. But I think there are a number of things that made it easier for him to do that, including the President not seeking re-election, Democrats not winning the White House. I think if President Biden had sought re-election and won, or if Vice President Harris had won her presidential campaign, I question whether this would be happening right now.

Yeah, those circumstances aside, though, when a president pardons his son, there will be accusations of inepotism. What's been the reaction from both Democrats and Republicans on this?

It's just starting to spill out. We're on the end of a holiday weekend here with Thanksgiving being a couple of days ago. We usually call it a Friday news drop, Friday evening news drop, but this is a holiday Sunday evening news drop. But the reactions are coming out, and they're predictable, quite Exactly. But also we've seen presidents of both parties use their powers in this way for many years, many years, Brooklyn, Donald Trump. It's not entirely surprising, but given our polarized, our nation is, there's certainly politicians on both sides of the aisle that are going to seize upon this.

Well, does this make it uncomfortable then for the US and its premise that it is a nation's of laws? Certainly, watching from the outside, it does present a rather awkward scenario.

I mean, I would argue that, strangely, President Biden and former President Trump are making some of the same arguments about our justice system in very different ways, but they are both saying that it's too politicized. I also think for the average American, I don't know that they're paying attention to this. I mean, the social media videos of Hunter Biden are not great. But also, if you're not a political junkie like myself or probably yourself, you probably haven't seen those. You're worried about getting food on the table for your kids or getting your paycheck. I think for people who are really into politics, this is important, or this is something they're really paying attention to. But for the average person The country is so polarized. I question how many parts of minds it changes on either side of the aisle.

Okay. What do we think is going to happen next then, now that this pardon has been put in place?

I'm sure Congressional Republicans are going to raise help. There's going to be a lot of people seizing upon this issue, and it will be in the headlines. But also it comes at a time as former President Trump and President-elect Trump is naming his appointees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who was arrested over heroine and other things back in the day, although social media didn't exist back in the day. But this is not... Also, I think a lot of American families have people in their families who have struggled with addiction. It's something that people can relate to, probably if the candidate aligns with their political views. But especially with the opioid crisis, this is not something that hasn't touched many families' lives.