President Joe Biden on Sunday raised a lot of eyebrows by deciding to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, in the gun and tax fraud charges against the 54-year-old. Amid that, many reflected on President-elect Donald Trump pardoning his daughter Ivanka Trump's father-in-law, Charles Kushner, back in 2020, as a similar act of a President pardoning a family member.
Trump pardoned Charles Kushner in December 2020. Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been convicted of tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign donations. His crimes included hiring a prostitute to entrap his brother-in-law and sending the recorded encounter to his sister as a form of retaliation.
Notably, Trump on Saturday announced that he is going to nominate Charles Kushner as the US Ambassador to France, despite the controversial past of the 70-year-old businessman.
Biden Pardoning Hunter Biden
President Joe Biden on Sunday released a statement announcing that he has decided to unconditionally pardon his 54-year-old son, saying that Hunter Biden has been unfairly prosecuted for coming from the Biden political family. Biden argued that despite not interfering with the Justice Department, he has decided to take the decision based on the merits of the case.
"Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form," Biden wrote in the statement.
"Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently."