Trump Critiques Biden for Pardoning His Son; Mentions Imprisoned Supporters

New York, Dec 2 (NationPress) President-elect Donald Trump has criticized President Joe Biden for issuing a pardon to his son Hunter, inquiring whether the pardon also covers his supporters who are serving time for their roles in the January 6 riots when Congress was attacked.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday night, he referred to the pardon as "such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"

"Does the pardon bestowed by Joe to Hunter encompass the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?" he questioned, using shorthand for the January 6, 2021, riots.

After Trump held a rally asserting that he had won the 2020 election, claiming it was stolen from him, some of his supporters stormed the Capitol, threatening then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress during the certification of Biden's election.

Trump labeled those convicted rioters as political prisoners and "hostages" who he believes underwent wrongful prosecution, stating he would consider pardoning them.

In a somewhat contradictory stance, Trump suggested he was open to pardoning Hunter Biden, saying, "despite what they’ve done to me, where they’ve gone after me so viciously, despite what, and Hunter’s a bad boy."

Seeking to resolve a contentious family matter as he concludes his presidency, Biden pardoned his son Hunter, who faced charges related to gun possession and tax evasion, thereby sparing him from potential prison sentences.

During the pardon announcement, Biden asserted that "raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice" in relation to his son’s case.

"The charges against him emerged only after several of my political adversaries in Congress instigated them to undermine my election," he stated.

Biden’s remarks about the selective prosecution of his son due to political pressures mirror Trump’s claims that he faced trial and conviction for political motives from prosecutors who weaponized the justice system.

The president claimed that other individuals who committed similar offenses as his son and under comparable circumstances were not prosecuted unless there were other factors involved or were offered non-criminal deals.

Trump and his supporters have consistently argued against politically motivated selective prosecution in his two convictions in New York.

The 34 criminal convictions highlighted by the Democrats during the campaign were for mislabeling payments in his records, with each check categorized as a separate offense.

In a civil case resulting in a $354 million fine, he was accused of inflating his net worth when applying for bank loans, even though the loans were repaid and the banks did not raise complaints.

Both cases were initiated by elected prosecutors from the Democratic Party.

Prior to Biden's pardon announcement, Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin referenced Trump’s claims to support the case for Hunter Biden.

"There is a defense called selective prosecution if you can demonstrate that the government has a set of cases that are similar but chooses to prosecute one individual based on political animus towards them, which essentially aligns with the claim Donald Trump has made about being targeted," he explained.

Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung, without directly addressing Biden’s pardon, stated, "The failed witch hunts against President Trump have shown that the Democrat-controlled DOJ (Department of Justice) and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system."

"That system of justice must be reformed, and due process must be reinstated for all Americans, which President Trump will ensure upon his return to the White House with a commanding mandate from the populace," he added.

Several Republicans joined in condemning the pardon.

Senator John Barrasso tweeted, "Tonight’s pardon is wrong. It proves to the American people that there is a two-tier system of justice."

Representative Wesley Hunt remarked, "Joe Biden just did the thing he told us he would never do, PARDONING his son for crimes he and the majority of the media claimed he never committed."

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene commented on Truth Social, "This pardon is Joe Biden’s admission that Hunter is a criminal."

She added that Biden’s "FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and DOJ (Department of Justice) raided Barron’s bedroom and Melania’s closet at Mar-a-Lago," referencing Trump’s son and wife.

Biden expressed, "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would make this decision" to pardon his son.

Senator Tom Cotton acknowledged in his X post, "Most Americans can empathize with a father’s decision to pardon his son, even if they disagree," but added, "What they can’t forgive is Biden lying about it repeatedly before the election."

Hunter Biden was central to Trump’s first impeachment, where he faced accusations of pressuring Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate alleged business irregularities to hinder Biden’s presidential campaign.

A Ukrainian gas company had appointed Hunter Biden as a director, providing him with monthly payments despite his lack of experience in the energy sector.

While the House of Representatives impeached Trump, the Senate ultimately did not convict him.