President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday night chided President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, asking if those prosecuted for rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 would also get a pass.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
In a statement released late Sunday, Biden called the prosecution of his son Hunter politically motived and a “miscarriage of justice” — sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing the president’s past promises not to use the powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.
The startling move comes weeks before Hunter was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in a gun case and guilty plea on tax charges.
For his part, Trump has promised to pardon those who are jailed for their roles in the riot that led to five deaths and injured nearly 200, including 174 police officers.
“The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to NBC News.
“That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.”
Republicans including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also slammed Biden’s pardon of his son.
Greene called Biden a liar, a criminal and a hypocrite, and Grassley declared he was shocked Biden would do such a thing after promising not to. “Shame on me,” Grassley tweeted.
With News Wire Services
