Hunter Biden (real name: Robert Hunter Biden) is making headlines again over his controversial gun and tax-related charges. For years, his father, President Joe Biden, has repeatedly stated he would not issue a formal pardon for his son. But as Joe’s presidency comes to an end soon, could he change his mind?
In a recent statement, President Biden claimed Hunter was “treated differently” and that “the charges in his cases came about only after several of [Joe’s] political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack [Joe] and oppose [his] election” in 2020.
Learn more about Hunter’s federal charges and pardon, below.
Who Are Joe Biden’s Children?
In addition to Hunter, President Biden is a father to daughter Ashley Biden. His other children — Beau and Naomi “Amy” Biden — are deceased. Beau died from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46, and Naomi died in a car accident with her mother, Joe’s first wife, Neilia, in 1972. Naomi was just a year old.
What Was Hunter Biden Convicted of?
Hunter was convicted of multiple charges in two separate cases: one related to taxes and another related to gun charges. In June 2024, Hunter was convicted of three felony charges related to a 2018 purchase of a revolver; the jury found him guilty of lying to a gun dealer by falsely claiming on an application that he was not a drug user and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days, according to the Associated Press.
In September 2024, Hunter pleaded guilty to three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Per his federal indictment in the tax case, Hunter was involved in a four-year scheme to avoid paying around $1.4 million in federal taxes that he owed from 2016 through 2019.
Hunter was awaiting sentencing for the tax and gun-related charges. The sentencing was scheduled to take place in December 2024.
Did Joe Biden Pardon His Son Hunter?
In an official statement, President Biden formally pardoned his son Hunter on December 1, 2024. Per the Associated Press, Joe insisted that, from the first day of his presidency, he said he “would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making.”
“And I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” the president pointed out. “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. 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.”
Joe went on to allege that Hunter’s charges “came about only after several of [the president’s] political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack [him] and oppose [his] election.”
“No reasonable person who looks at 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,” Joe continued. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. 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.”
At the end of the president’s statement, Joe added that he has “followed a simple principle: [to] just tell the American people the truth.”
“Here’s the truth: 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,” President Biden said, before concluding, “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”