After months of insisting he would not pardon his son Hunter, President Joe Biden did just that -- as almost anyone other than left-wing cable news legal analysts and Trump-hating late-night comics expected. In doing so, Biden effectively confirmed the Trump "conspiracy theory" of a two-tiered justice system.
The pardon covers not only Hunter Biden's convictions on tax and gun charges but also any crimes he may have committed since 2014, the year he joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Biden's pardon statement said: "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."
Biden added: "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 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."
Left-wing pundits, with some exceptions, offered various excuses to defend the pardon Biden vowed not to grant: Well, hey, this was his son; Hunter was unfairly targeted; President-elect Donald Trump vowed to go after political enemies; and Trump was a greater abuser of the pardon power.
MSNBC's legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said: "Prosecuting someone for unpaid taxes that are then repaid with interest and penalties is something that is typically resolved civilly instead of through criminal charges. So, I do believe that Hunter Biden was treated differently than any other person would have been treated, even if it did not arise to the level of legal selective or legal vindictive prosecution."
Special prosecutor David Weiss said in a court filing after the pardon, "There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case."
Fox News legal analyst and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy McCarthy said, "So if I rob a bank, but I bring the money back, that's OK? It's idiotic. As far as the gun case is concerned, that was not what they call a lie-and-try case where you fill out the form, but you don't get the gun because they find out there's a problem. [Hunter] actually got the gun. Those cases get brought up all the time. And as for a tax violation, it's just like the bank robbery ... Paying back the money you owe doesn't mean you didn't commit the crime. It's not a defense ... those are just silly arguments and in point of fact, he got cut break after break because he was Hunter Biden, because he was the president's son ... they actually tried to make the case against him go away, which is a break that no American would get."
As for breaks "no American would get," IRS whistleblowers said the IRS and the DOJ stymied their investigation by dragging it out so the statute of limitations would allow Hunter to skate on the nonpayment of taxes in his highest-earning years. The whistleblowers also say they were prevented from interviewing other Biden family members.
About the pardon, House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said, "The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people."
Last June, Comer's committee, along with the House Judiciary and Ways and Means committees, said, "The Committees are investigating the President's role in and knowledge of his family's international influence peddling schemes that have generated over $18 million for Biden family members and their related companies, and over $27 million when including the payments to their business associates, who often were used to transfer funds to Biden family members."
This raises a question. When will Biden pardon the rest of his family members and himself? Stay tuned.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an "Elderado," visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder.