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Joe Biden pardons son Hunter in final weeks in office (www.abc.net.au)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by zero_gravitas@aussie.zone to c/worldnews@aussie.zone

33 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In short:

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, saying "raw politics … led to a miscarriage of justice".

Hunter Biden was convicted of gun charges and tax evasion and was facing sentencing hearings scheduled for mid-December.

Joe Biden said he made the decision over the weekend while spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family.

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[–] Drusas@fedia.io 40 points 4 months ago (2 children)

If Trump hadn't won the election, I would disapprove of this action. But he did and he has promised to weaponize the DOJ, so this is the smart move.

[–] eureka@aussie.zone 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

If Trump hadn’t won the election, I would disapprove of this action.

If this was using presidential dictatorship to pardon someone actually meaningful or forcing through progressive legislation, I would say it's fine, but this is just run-of-the-mill corruption as far as I can tell (but I don't follow this celebrity drama closely so maybe there's more to it).

The only silver lining I see is that it proves Biden is willing to use their presidential powers, and we get to see their true colours once more in how they choose to and choose not to use them. If they don't use this powers to try and stop Republican terror, then we know they're complicit.

[–] Scary_le_Poo@beehaw.org 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The pardon was because the Republicans undid his plea deal that the department of justice had agreed to. THAT was corruption. Political opponents should not be able to break up an already done pleas deal. The plea deal was fair and Biden said as much, but when Republicans broke up the deal, that's when he decided to issue the pardon.

You really should read more than the headline.

[–] eureka@aussie.zone 2 points 4 months ago

You really should read more than the headline.

You're right, and often I do, but I just don't see the point in putting that effort into the US political spectacle. Thanks for the details.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone -5 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Hunter Biden was convicted and will be sentenced under Biden's DOJ. I don't see what Trump's election has to do with it.

[–] derGottesknecht@feddit.org 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

After a trump appointed judge killed the plea deal.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

a trump appointed judge

Yeah, appointed by Trump in 2018.

killed the plea deal

Yeah, they killed the deal in July.

So again, I can't see how Trump's inauguration in January, and any 'weaponising of the DOJ' that would occur after that, could have any bearing on Hunter's conviction earlier this year, and sentencing this month.

[–] derGottesknecht@feddit.org 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Trump appointed judges are likely to be loyal to trump, like that loose cannon which delayed trumps document case. So pressure from the trump team derailed the plea deal and and made it impossible for hunter to get a fair trial, especially under a trump doj. If he wasn't joe bidens son he probably would have never gone to trial.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The comment I was originally responding to said:

If Trump hadn’t won the election, I would disapprove of this action. But he did and he has promised to weaponize the DOJ, so this is the smart move.

That is what I was responding to.

So your responses, correct or not, are not relevant to my comment or the comment I was responding to.

You said:

So pressure from the trump team derailed the plea deal and and made it impossible for hunter to get a fair trial

If that is what happened, it happened before Trump got elected.

especially under a trump doj.

Hunter has already been convicted, and will be sentenced this month under a Biden DOJ.

[–] derGottesknecht@feddit.org 0 points 4 months ago

Under a harris doj you could expect a fairer trial than now under trump.

[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Are you one of those "the Trump admin doesn't mean what it says" apologists?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

It's to stop him from coming after anything else they might trump up. (Weird that trump the verb is doubly appropriate.)