President Biden bypassed Justice Department when he pardoned his son
In pardoning his son, President Joe Biden did not go through the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, which processes applications and advises the president, sources familiar with the situation told CNN.
While Biden has relied on the pardon office for every other act of clemency, Donald Trump regularly bypassed the office when granting pardons during his first administration.
The decision to pardon his son Hunter, which was well within Biden’s authorities as president, comes after he said repeatedly he would not pardon him. Hunter Biden was convicted of several counts in two separate cases related to a gun purchase and taxes.
More context: The Office of the Pardon Attorney assists presidents on executive clemency, including pardons and commuting sentences, and makes recommendations. The pardon office may have determined Hunter Biden wasn’t qualified for a pardon because he has not been sentenced in either the gun or tax case, according to sources familiar with the process.
Biden has granted fewer than 30 individual pardons during his presidency and pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He has commuted the sentences of more than 100 individuals.
Trump was criticized during his administration for choosing not to go through the pardon office for many of the more than 200 acts of clemency he issued. The vast majority of those acts were not recommended by the pardon office, according to the Federal Sentencing Reporter.
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