The decision, which was first reported by NBC News, is a reversal for the president, who repeatedly said he would not use his authority to pardon his son or commute his sentence.
Summary
President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, reversing his prior stance against using executive clemency.
The pardon covers Hunter’s federal gun conviction and tax evasion guilty plea, sparking political controversy.
Biden cited political attacks and a “miscarriage of justice” as reasons for his decision, emphasizing his son’s recovery from addiction and the targeting of his family.
Critics argue the move undermines the judicial process, while supporters view it as within Biden’s constitutional powers.
This decision shields Hunter from potential prison time as Biden nears the end of his presidency.
I'm very torn about it. I don't think he would have done it if Kamala won. I can totally see Trump trying to get Hunter beheaded, so in that way I'm fine with what Biden did.
It really shows how fucked up and desperate the American political discourse is at this point IMO. Before it was "see how much integrity Biden has for not even pardoning his own son", now it's turned into "Hunter was a political prisoner and victim of unjust persecution" in an instant. No one is willing to admit any faults because the other side gleefully profits from them. I can understand why people do it, but it's a worrying indication for the state of politics in America.
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I could read that to include being an alcoholic. But I can also read it as being addicted to caffeine.
Because Republicans have no appetite to change the form. They like it this way, most people who break the law will never be prosecuted, but when they want to prosecute someone it's easy
That may all be perfectly true, but my point was more about how this case was treated by the democrats and their supporters. After the verdict, few people raised the points you just did. Instead, the narrative was all about how unlike republicans, democrats respected the law and would fully support the verdict. Biden himself even publicly ruled out a pardon.
Now that the pardon actually happened, that is all immediately forgotten. The narrative changed and democrats expect their supporters to get in line. Trumpists have been doing that kind of thing every other day, but the democrats are starting to do it as well. That's what worries me.
I can be worried about more than one thing at a time mate. And where did I ever say anything about a moral line? I obviously don't approve of the fascist things the fascist party does and yes, they deeply worry me, despite not even living in the US. That doesn't mean that the democrats are somehow absolved of all criticism and can't do anything wrong.
Obviously the bigger immediate problems will be what Trump gets up to in the next few years. But if there's supposed to be a way out of this mess at some point, I think it's also important for the democrats to be a strong opposition. They should provide an antithesis to Trumpist politics by showing honesty, integrity and consistency. Their justification for doing things should never be "but Trump did way worse". Saying one thing and doing another might work out perfectly for Trump, but that doesn't mean it will for the democrats. That may be unfair, but it is how it is. So the real worry is that I don't think acting this way will win them another election, should there even be one.
Didn't say they should play nice. But a bit of nepotism definitely won't contribute to getting out of fascism. Nor will justifying things based on whether the fascists are doing worse or trying to copy their oppenent's tactics. All that will do is making people lose faith in their movement.
Starting? If there's one thing people should learn from the 2024 election, it's that Blue MAGA exists and they're just as stupid and easily manipulated as the people on the right.
I got attacked a lot for speaking of "blue MAGA". But this is an aspect of it. The Republicans managed to push their fanatic cult of personality, rally around the leader, no mistakes are made, critics are opponents and need to be kicked out kind of political "culture" into parts of the Democratic base.
But this is a kind of "dont wrestle a pig in the mud" situation. By adopting the Republicans culture and way of thinking, it gives them further strength.
We need to accept that "they go low, we go high" isn't working and pivot to "they go low, we step on them".
We shouldn't be abiding by the rules and precedent they willfully ignore. We too can play dirty.
But we've lost if the DNC ever succumbs to a strongman cult of personality like the Republicans did. Where if you don't lick the boot you're a Democrat in name only.