this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Summary

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, prompting strong backlash from Republicans.

GOP lawmakers criticized the move as an abuse of power and an attempt to avoid accountability, with figures like Rep. James Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley calling it hypocritical and corrupt.

Biden defended the pardon, citing “selective prosecution” and claiming Hunter was unfairly targeted due to their family connection.

Hunter faced convictions for federal gun and tax charges.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 26 minutes ago

The only people allowed to be outraged on this are Democrats. The Republican party lost their right to be angry about this kinda stupid stuff shortly after they elected a rapist.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Everyone needs to play the same game they do.

Is it hypocritical, yeah probably, does he have any reason to answer for it? Naw

Trump just put Kusher in a role .. a person he pardoned for ... "preparing false tax returns, witness retaliation, and making false statements to the FEC" per his own statement.

Right.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

People voted this kind of behavior into office, repeatedly. Anyone clutching pearls right now can fuck off.

I sure as hell wouldn't want my son at the mercy of Trumps DOJ.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago

If you think that Trump's DOJ is gonna respect pardons from a Democrat...

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Fuck 'em. Let them fume. This is the party that wants to let the terrorists from Jan 6 off with a pardon. The party that thinks donvict can do no wrong.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 58 minutes ago* (last edited 57 minutes ago)

I'll bet the Jan 6 pardons are quietly forgotten. They were a bunch of useful idiots who have already played their role and can be safely disposed of.

Only exception might be anyone who could be potentially squeezed for more information that might lead to more evidence against Trump, but even that's probably a non-issue for him.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

I seriously think he should do a LOT of other shitty things Trump set the precedent for. Like perhaps seriously abuse that presidential pardon thing that Trump invented.

Like, I don't know, I'm just brainstorming here, perhaps order the assassinations of the future president and all of the key people circling around him. And then just go all Jesse Pinkman, "yeah! presidential immunity bitch!".

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[–] [email protected] 136 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Well, y'all mfuckers put a convicted felon, a rapist, a fraudster and a con artist as your president, so shut the fuck up.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 hours ago

You forgot the worst one, which is "fascist wanna-be dictator."

[–] Kecessa 4 points 3 hours ago

And the worst part, these are all the same person!

[–] [email protected] 51 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I think Biden should use his pardon power for good. I don't have a huge problem with this, but I want him to do something unexpected. Biden should pardon all the married immigrants after his program was recently shot down in court. For those that don't know, Many immigrants are married to US citizens, but cannot achieve citizenship that you normally would be able to do. It hinges on entering the country Illegally, which requires them to leave for up to 10 years before re applying for citizenship. Biden could pardon the "crime" of illegal entry, this removing the INS statue of not allowing them citizenship.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

See the problem with that is. While the president can try to pardon unlawful entry, unlawful entry is a civil offense, meaning, you aren't even entitled to a court appointed lawyer. So the supreme court might try to weigh in on pardons for civil offenses.

But even if the pardon is all legit and pass the supreme court, it doesn't matter, in immigration law, all arrests, all convictions, any juvenile proceeding within the past 5 years, are all visible to USCIS and they are legally allowed to consider them when determining whether or not to allow someone to enter the US, whether or not to deport them, or whether or not to allow adjustment of legal status. Yes ALL records, even pardoned, even if sealed or expunged by court, they see everything. You can visit the USCIS website and see for yourself.

Edit: And oh, even if you are never arrested, but the FBI investigated you a few times, USCIS might have access to those and if the FBI agents wrote bad things on your file, you might have problems with immigration or naturalization. Yea its quite fucked up, but it is what it is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

If an incoming fascist government were promising retribution for their political opponents, and if there were threats, however fringe, of public executions, I would also pardon my child. I'm honestly surprised more high profile people aren't leaving the country. Though I guess that would be a bad move on multiple levels. What did that one article say? Don't bend the knee until there's a memo saying you have to?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

Also it's probably easier to have them killed outside the country. The CIA and Mossad operate with impunity.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 hours ago

Would this pardon allow Hunter full ability to leave the US and enter into other countries? Because I can totally see Biden doing this as a move to get all of his family out of harms way once Trump takes office and I don't blame them one bit. The Republicans have been very vocal about their vengeance and honestly if this was the reasoning behind the pardon it would be the first time since the election that we've seen the president taking the threat we all face seriously.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

I really don't think giving the head of state the power to pardon is a very good idea. I used to be totally baffled how it was a thing at all but the rationale has since been explained to me. While I sorta get it, the theoretical benefit is far outweighed by the inevitable grimy reality. Like others, probably mostly because of my own biases, I find it hard to summon a great deal of outrage about this understandable if blatantly hypocritical move after so much prior abuse of the lower had already occurred, but frankly if the option weren't even there then nobody would even need to talk about this. If the justice system of the nation is supposedly well designed and theoretically trustworthy then there isn't the need to have the ability for it to be arbitrarily overrulled in a manner that operates very much like the monarchical tyrants the United States was supposedly foundationally opposed to.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 hours ago

I would have felt better if Biden was more honest about this. "Yes, this is a blatant abuse of my power, and shouldn't be allowed, but it is squarely within my Official Duties. The Supreme Court says that the only remedy is impeachment. Hey, Mike, I double-dog dare ya to do it!"

[–] [email protected] 82 points 8 hours ago (18 children)

I’m not pleased at the prospect of Republicans doing the same thing in four years, after the corruption of Trump’s second term, and then pointing their fingers at this… but, to anyone with half a brain and at least one eye… Hunter wasn’t in politics, wasn’t directly appointed to his staff or a representative in any fashion within the White House, and the gun and tax crimes are small fries compared to anything the Trump family and stooges are or have been up to.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Prospect? Where have you been? Did you miss when Trump pardoned Jared Kushner's father?

Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner [Jared Kushner's father] discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation.

Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said.

In fact, this man who "pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering" has now been nominated to be Ambassador to France by Trump. There is no "prospect of Republicans doing the same thing in four years." They've been doing it for the last 40+ years already. You just haven't been paying attention.

It's about time the Democrats got of their damn high horse and got down in the mud and started fighting like they mean it.

[–] [email protected] 101 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Prospect? Trump handed out pardons like candy to far worse people who happened to aligned with his politics. After 8 years of seeing Trump rat-fuck norms and laws and precedent and unjustly go after his family and get away with everything, while everyone else tries to play by the rules, Biden is probably asking himself why he has to let his son risk prison when he knows everyone in the incoming administration wouldn't even give a second thought to pardoning.

I don't support it, but I get it. This is the kind of shit America voted for, right?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 hours ago

Haven't seen this linked yet so I'll leave it here: https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-joseph-biden-2021-present - (25 pardons, 26 pardons including Hunter) https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-donald-j-trump-2017-2021 - (144 pardons)

(Got distracted counting Trumps pardons, may be off by a few)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 hours ago

Yeah the choice for President was between cop and felon. The majority polled against equal application of the rule of law. Biden is just respecting the voters' wishes.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (4 children)

Roger Stone, Steve Banon, Dinesh D'Souza all sorts of other crony based pardons were already done in Trumps last term.

Your Pearl Clutching the inevitable (as of it will now be Bidens fault) is ridiculous, and out of line.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Don Jr did cocaine in public at the recent Space X launch and not a peep out of the mainstream media, much less police.

If a policeman saw a black man outside a night club do what Don Jr did, he would have been arrested on the spot and immediately thrown in jail.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

There’s no disagreement from me, before you made this comment or after.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Did you forget Trump pardoning several war criminals and others in his cabinet who directly worked with foreign adverse governments?

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Conveniently forgetting the fact Trump has literally thousands of pardons lined up for when he gets back in office

How does that saying go? Something like "if they didn't have double standards they'd have no standards at all"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I'm surprised Republicans can even remember what a moral high ground looks like let alone pretend to hold it. According to them attempted insurrection, rape, grifting, child sex trafficking, taking away citizens rights on religious grounds, nepotism in high ranking government roles bypassing security screening, soliciting other countries for election interference, abandoning foreign allies, attempting to undermine elections, pardoning murderers, denying election results, etc are all legal and morally okay for people to commit with no restitution for victims or consequences for perpetrators.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 hours ago

In a perfect world I'd say he needs to let the system work and nobody is above the law, yada yada yada. Clearly this world and country are horribly fucked. For YEARS Republicans have been using the term "Biden Family" to make them sound like some kind of crime syndicate, coming up with "ominous facts" that were not indicative of any actual crime, held an impeachment over President Bidens head for years, distributed naked pictures of Hunter, and interfered with what would've been a simple plea deal, all the while trying to downplay the most corrupt presidency in our history.

Fuck the norms. Fuck ethics. Fuck propriety. The new America requires you to use every tool at your disposal just to get your most basic fucking rights. If Republicans think this is such an abuse of power they can do their fucking jobs for once in their lives and pass some fucking ethics reform. I applaud Joe's embrace of the new normal and I hope other Democrats figure out this is the new normal, whether they like it or not, and stop playing pussyfoot with a party that's been playing "kick the groin" for over 30 years.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 hours ago (7 children)

Good. Fuckem. I’d be pissed about it, too, if we had something resembling justice in this country. Let them have aneurysms.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 hours ago

Hypocrites. That's all the GOP is. And their base is full of them too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

Fumes a party that endorsed a convicted felon for presidency.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

Fumes a party that endorsed a convicted felon for presidency.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago

“Republicans” “Fume”

I don’t lend any credence to headlines like this anymore. I saw way too many headlines about how “young voters hate Trump” and clearly that meant nothing when election day came so I wish these “news” organizations would shut the fuck up with this bullshit. Just because 2 people do something doesn’t make it news.

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