Biden pardoning Hunter is a ‘total disrespect for the rule of law,’ Tom Dupree says
Former federal prosecutor Katie Cherkasky and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Tom Dupree join ‘Sunday Night in America’ to discuss President Biden pardoning his son Hunter and President-elect Trump tapping Kash Patel to head the FBI.
President-elect Trump reacted to President Biden's surprise decision to pardon his son Hunter on Sunday.
Biden's move to pardon – a decision he previously claimed he would not make – turned heads across the country. In a Truth Social post on Sunday night, Trump suggested that Biden should have pardoned Jan. 6 protesters.
"Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?" Trump wrote. "Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"
The Trump transition team also reacted to the pardon for Hunter Biden.
BIDEN WON'T PARDON HUNTER, WHITE HOUSE REAFFIRMS, BUT CRITICS AREN'T SO SURE
Trump reacted to the pardoning of Hunter Biden on Sunday night. (Reuters/Getty/AP Images)
"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 incoming White House communications chief Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox 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."
Earlier on Sunday, Biden accused Republicans of unfair treatment and claimed Hunter was "treated differently" by prosecutors. Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony firearm offenses in a Delaware trial earlier this year, and then pleaded guilty to multiple felony tax offenses in September.
"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the president's statement read.
TRUMP NOMINATES KASH PATEL TO SERVE AS FBI DIRECTOR: 'ADVOCATE FOR TRUTH'
US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage at the conclusion of the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
"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," he continued. "Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions."
Biden also evoked Hunter's battle with substance abuse and asked Americans to "understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."
"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," the president continued. "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."
Hunter Biden, son of United States President Biden attends an event celebrating the 2024 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC, United States on September 30, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Biden had previously denied any intent to pardon his son after Hunter was convicted earlier this year.
"I am not going to do anything," Biden said after the conviction. "I will abide by the jury’s decision."
Trump previously told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin that, if elected, he "wouldn't do anything that would be overt" regarding Hunter Biden's cases, calling the first son's legal woes "a sad situation."
US President Biden (L) walks out of Nantucket Bookworks with son Hunter Biden, grandson Beau and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen Biden in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 29, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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"I'll bet you the father probably pardons him," the Republican remarked. "Let's see what happens. But he's a bad boy."
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