As if the American public needed another reason to be cynical about their elected leaders. As if people needed one more reminder that justice isn’t equal, or that politicians can go back on their pledges.
President Joe Biden on Sunday pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, wiping away federal criminal convictions on income tax and gun charges. That’s even though the president and his spokesperson said repeatedly this year that he would do no such thing.
Donald Trump’s multiple pardons of crooks, cheats and liars in the final weeks of his first presidential term — and his appointment of at least one of them to a high-profile job in his second term — does not excuse Biden’s pardon of his son. Instead, Biden’s pardon reminds the public that knowing the right people is the best way to avoid jail.
The actions of both men tell the public that jury verdicts and judicial decisions don’t mean the same thing to friends and relatives of presidents as they do for everyone else.
President Biden could have left office with dignity and a legacy of decades of public service. Pardoning his son means he will be remembered much the same as Trump: Playing favorites.
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