Merged Hunter Biden pardoned/was Biden right to pardon Hunter?

[Chanakya]

I'll repeat: The what, now? In Hunter's case, Joe did not interfere with the case, did not comment on it, let it play out through channels, and Hunter was convicted. He was facing jail time. And yet Joe is now unprincipled by pardoning him? Even God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac on the altar in atonement. So Joe has a decent example to follow.

ONE pardon makes Biden "unprincipled"?? Seriously? I would use the words "fed up".

Fed up, sure. But unprincipled as well.

Are these high standards? Sure. But they're standards by which many ordinary men and women live. And in any case, shouldn't a President be held to high standards?

We mustn't let Trump's vileness so pollute everything that something like this is seen as OK.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Thanks, didn't know that. I was only little at the time.

I rush to disavow personal recollection of the event, I hadn't even been born then. I'm much, much younger than that!

 

[TragicMonkey]

Fed up, sure. But unprincipled as well.

Are these high standards? Sure. But they're standards by which many ordinary men and women live. And in any case, shouldn't a President be held to high standards?

We mustn't let Trump's vileness so pollute everything that something like this is seen as OK.

Jesus Christ was rude to those money-changers at the temple. What a jerk! He should never have gotten the job as Messiah, standards slipped tragically far. Guess we'll all just burn in hell until someone better than that comes along to do the job!

 

[BDBoop]

So will Biden pardon every other drug addict that violated gun control law? I doubt it.

They don’t need to be pardoned, they don’t exist. It’s penny-ante ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊, it never should’ve been charged.

 

[smartcooky]

Absolutely the right move by Joe Biden. Hunter was targeted by the Repugnicans for no other reason than he is Biden's son.

And, as if Trump wouldn't have done exactly the same thing if Eric or Don Jr were targeted.

 

[Chanakya]

How is it unprincipled? The justification for having the power to pardon is that sometimes the justice system does not deliver justice, and extraordinary intervention can be used. Hunter Biden's crime was laughably tiny compared to the amount of time and resources spent by his father's political opponents in attempting to make more of the case than actually was. It is abundantly clear to all but the terminally naive that this state of things would not only continue but accelerate under the incoming orange turdclown. Extraordinary situation, fixable by the well-established function of the pardon. A time-honored, legal, and completely accepted thing in American jurisprudence.

If Biden had pardoned an unrelated person for the exact same thing would you have the same exaggerated horror at it? If so, why? If not, why not? Hunter Biden shouldn't be denied something any other American can have just because of who his father is. Especially since he's only in trouble in the first place because of who his father is.

Caesar's wife?

(Sorry about the staccato post, am on phone.)

This is unprincipled in and of itself. What makes it worse is how it will be pounced on --- correctly, if hypocritically --- by Trump worshipers, and how it might further hit morale. And/or how it might further lower standards all around.

I think he's let his side down by doing this.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Caesar's wife?

(Sorry about the staccato post, am on phone.)

This is unprincipled in and of itself. What makes it worse is how it will be pounced on --- correctly, if hypocritically --- by Trump worshipers, and how it might further hit morale. And/or how it might further lower standards all around.

I think he's let his side down by doing this.

Have you read Biden's statement?

Full written statement from President Joe Biden on his decision to pardon his son Hunter

President Joe Biden has issued a written statement explaining his decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden.

apnews.com

He clearly states he did it because convicting Hunter was a miscarriage of justice.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Caesar's wife?

(Sorry about the staccato post, am on phone.)

This is unprincipled in and of itself. What makes it worse is how it will be pounced on --- correctly, if hypocritically --- by Trump worshipers, and how it might further hit morale. And/or how it might further lower standards all around.

I think he's let his side down by doing this.

Trump supporters will say the worst no matter what Biden does. They'll say the worst and just make things up. It literally doesn't matter what Biden does, no action he could possibly ever take --or refrain from taking-- will cause Trump supporters to not say the worst about him. How are you not getting that? If Biden cured cancer tomorrow the Trump idiots would accuse him of using Satanic powers, of causing cancer to begin with, and of acquiring the cure by harvesting the brains of kidnapped children.

"Let the side down"? He's supposed to sacrifice his son to unfair persecution by his political enemies because you think it looks bad not to?

 

[smartcooky]

He's old and tired, and dishonest underneath, and can't be bothered to hide his fundamental lack of honesty and integrity any more, particularly because he's milked the system for all possible personal gain, and has nothing to lose any more at a personal level.

Sure, Trump's like a million times worse, in a hundred different ways. That does not exonerate this legally endorsed grift.

Biden's proved himself a mini-Trump by doing this. A prettier version, and sans the charisma.

This is ...tragic, no less.

Well, its about time. The Repugnican scumbaggery party has gone unchallenged in the gutters of the low road for far too long. The Democrats have waited far too long before taking that road themselves. That needs to change, and I see this as a possible first step.

 

[Chanakya]

Jesus Christ was rude to those money-changers at the temple. What a jerk! He should never have gotten the job as Messiah, standards slipped tragically far. Guess we'll all just burn in hell until someone better than that comes along to do the job!

More like Jesus Christ booted out the money changers, and slipped a single shekel from the loot into his robe to buy candy for his son. Not bread for his starving son, but candy for his sweet-toothed son.

Obviously Trump's vile well beyond Biden's scale. Plus Trump's vileness is far more eclectic, multifaceted, habitual, everyday. Still? Let's not try to defend the indefensible. Let's leave the defending the indefensible thing to Trump worshipers.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Letting a miscarriage of justice stand is indefensible.

 

[TragicMonkey]

More like Jesus Christ booted out the money changers, and slipped a single shekel from the loot into his robe to buy candy for his son. Not bread for his starving son, but candy for his sweet-toothed son.

Obviously Trump's vile well beyond Biden's scale. Plus Trump's vileness is far more eclectic, multifaceted, habitual, everyday. Still? Let's not try to defend the indefensible. Let's leave the defending the indefensible thing to Trump worshipers.

Read Biden's statement. I don't think it's indefensible in the least. Biden's political enemies were abusing their power to unjustly persecute Biden's son, and showed every sign of continuing to do so. Biden had a perfectly legal, perfectly proper means of ending that, and was not only justified in doing so but morally compelled to. Just as he should have for anybody other than his son had they been in the same situation.

 

[Chanakya]

Anyway, I'll bow out. I'm not really saying anything new, after all, or offering any penetrating analysis or insight. Just, I think this is wrong, and refuse to pretend otherwise just because Trump's like a million times worse.

 

[stanfr]

Well it was a totally Trumpist thing to do, especially since he explicitly said he would not. So why stop here, go full-on Trump, declare a national emergency and prevent Trump from taking office, require a new election, whatever--it's all part of his 'official' duties as President so he has absolute immunity. Hell--go for broke, declare himself Supreme Leader and execute his opponents, that's basically what Trump has threatened to do--if you can't beat em join em!

 

[Athyrio]

Letting a miscarriage of justice stand is indefensible.

Help me here because I’m really having trouble with this. Since the election, when I realized that more voters in the USA, the country where I was born, decided to elect as President a convicted felon rather than someone else, I decided to try and cyber-hibernate for the next 4 years (limiting my posts to Limericks) but it ain’t working today.

Calling Hunter’s conviction a miscarriage of justice sounds closely to what the MAGAts say about Trump’s legal difficulties.

Maybe he should not have pled guilty and stood trial instead.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Help me here because I’m really having trouble with this. Since the election, when I realized that more voters in the USA, the country where I was born, decided to elect as President a convicted felon rather than someone else, I decided to try and cyber-hibernate for the next 4 years (limiting my posts to Limericks) but it ain’t working today.

Calling Hunter’s conviction a miscarriage of justice sounds closely to what the MAGAts say about Trump’s legal difficulties.

Maybe he should not have pled guilty and stood trial instead.

Read Biden's statement. It explains it. (The app isn't letting me quote the relevant paragraphs.)

 

[AmyStrange]

Read Biden's statement. It explains it. (The app isn't letting me quote the relevant paragraphs.)

FROM: Full written statement from President Joe Biden on his decision to pardon his son Hunter

The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.

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. 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.

-

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I would have been very disappointed if Biden hadn't done this.

But then, I am generally disappointed in Biden.

 

[Athyrio]

Read Biden's statement. It explains it. (The app isn't letting me quote the relevant paragraphs.)

I did earlier and I read it again just now. You are aware of the specific charges HB pled guilty to. Do you feel he should have gotten let off entirely? Even considering his addiction problems, as maudlin as President Biden posed them in his defense of the pardon, is he not responsible for some illegal conduct even though he is the son of the POTUS? And sentencing hadn’t occurred yet. The decision and then the timing on this pardon is disturbing.

 

[Orphia Nay]

It's my understanding that Hunter Biden pled guilty to things that shouldn't be a crime.