Readers comment on Hunter Biden pardon

President Joe Biden was probably not going to pardon his son until President-elect Donald Trump made it clear he was planning to punish his adversaries [“Biden’s broken promise on son’s pardon ‘bad precedent,’ ” Nation, Dec. 3]. His choices for his Cabinet underscore that plan.

Biden didn’t lie — he changed his mind due to a change in the situation. If Hunter Biden were not the president’s son, many pundits and law professors agree that he would never have been prosecuted. Yes, he misrepresented his addiction when he purchased a gun, but he never fired it and returned it within days, and all of his tax infractions were remedied by Hunter Biden repaying the taxes he owed, along with additional penalties.

Obviously, Joe Biden cares deeply for his son. He did not want to give Trump the chance for revenge for defeating him in 2020, which Trump still refuses to acknowledge.

It saddens me that any thinking individual would not see this as necessary because the threats to our justice system are apparent. Thank you, Mr. President, for showing love and loyalty in the face of so much invalid criticism.

— June Zeger, East Meadow

“Hunter Biden pardon wrong” is truly rich [Editorial, Dec. 3]. The editorial board must have been asleep at the wheel the past eight years. The United States will have a felon, convicted on 34 counts, and a man liable for sexual assault going to the White House again. That is what is wrong and sets a bad precedent.

Joe Biden has every right to pardon his son. So please keep your holier-than-thou, self-righteous opinions to yourself!

— Rhona Silverman, Huntington Station

I agree with the editorial’s key points, but I don’t agree with it misrepresenting the facts about the incoming administration. Donald Trump has said that his revenge against those who unfairly prosecuted him would be his successes. He likely will not go after his enemies because he has too many disasters to clean up from the previous administration — open borders, crime, inflation, drugs, wars, the economy, etc.

Many believe Joe Biden weaponized the Justice Department and FBI to go after his political opponents. If that is not corruption, I don’t know what is.

— John Romano, Baldwin

The editorial board seems to accept that Hunter Biden’s prosecution was not necessarily politically motivated despite numerous partisan elected officials calling for his prosecution for years. Many credible experts have said that most, if not all, people in Biden’s situation would not have been prosecuted at this point. But even if Hunter Biden deserved prosecution, Donald Trump has promised to further persecute Joe Biden and his family.

Trump posted on Truth Social in June 2023, in all capital letters, “I will appoint a real special ‘prosecutor’ to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the USA, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family . . . ” This is blatantly a corrupt and lawless threat that completely politicizes the Justice Department. His nominees are vowing to do exactly what Trump has threatened. What person who cares about his family would not do exactly what Joe Biden has done?

— Gerald Dantone, Coram

Both Democrats and Republicans are going out of their minds because Joe Biden pardoned his son. Who among us would leave their child to face a Donald Trump-concocted Justice Department? Hunter Biden committed a crime that many others have done, lying about drug use on a gun application. Trump pardoned real criminals, and most were his friends.

Democrats say this will hurt the president’s legacy. Perhaps they should do what they should have done during Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign — speak about all the administration’s successes, and Biden has had many. We have the strongest economy in the world. Unemployment is down, pay is up. Infrastructure is being built. If people choose to think only of the pardon, too bad.

Please, stop with the moral nonsense. Every one of us would have done the same thing for our child.

— Robert Broder, Stony Brook

I disagree with the editorial board. There is little doubt that a felon president will pardon hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters, likely one of his first acts upon taking office. But Hunter Biden should serve time in jail? Really?

Two wrongs don’t make a right, many have pontificated. However, after several hundred wrongs, that maxim starts to wear thin. Please spare me the nonsense about the bar being lowered. That proverbial bench mark took a dive nine years ago when Donald Trump descended the escalator.

— Nick Santora, Roslyn Heights

I completely understand Joe Biden’s decision to change his mind about pardoning his son. The world looks different when a possible sentencing is a year away, then six months away, then a month away. Also, since he last had said he wouldn’t pardon his son, the landscape has changed. Kash Patel has been nominated to head the FBI and Pam Bondi for attorney general.

Patel has done numerous interviews where he called out Hunter Biden as one of his planned investigations. His plan is to torment the right’s favorite punching bag.

Bondi is another who has publicly attacked the “Biden Crime Family.” Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan have said that even with a pardon they will still call Hunter Biden to testify. Joe Biden was perfectly right to change his mind, considering it’s a new world.

— Michael L. Wilson, Holbrook

The news article and editorial made good moral points why the pardon was wrong. Joe Biden violated his promise not to do it, and it set a precedent. Donald Trump is prepared to pardon the Jan. 6 protesters whom he calls patriots.

In his first term, Trump pardoned friends and allies. What Biden’s son did was wrong, and I believe he deserved to take his punishment. But I can understand how the president would want to pardon his son for a crime not nearly as grievous as those done on Jan. TH>6. Let us not forget, our country just elected a felon as the next president. Politically, our nation’s moral compass is broken.

— Paul Spina Jr., Calverton

I condemn the holier-than-thou Democrats on their righteousness in criticizing the pardon. Joe Biden acted as a father to protect his son from the bloodthirsty Donald Trump supporters.

Trump’s pardons of his close associates and a family member caused little uproar. It was looked at, again, as “it’s Trump being Trump.” But if Biden does it, he is a hypocrite and liar. Unfortunately, politics is a dirty business.

— Ben Horlick, Dix Hills

I support the president 100%. Donald Trump plans to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and hire a loyalist with a list of enemies. Joe Biden did the right thing, given the words and deeds of Trump. He should pardon preemptively everyone one on Trump’s enemies list.

— Rony Kessler, Franklin Square

Yes, Joe Biden’s pardon of his son is not the best situation. However, with an incoming administration threatening retribution for anyone who disagrees with Donald Trump, Biden’s concern is understandable. He has already buried one son. To have his remaining son put through the wringer in retribution must have been extremely troubling.

Therefore, I understand his action in pardoning his son, even though it is not ideal.

— Carl Maltzman, Valley Stream

Joe Biden was right to pardon his son. Hunter Biden did things so many others have done but were never charged and prosecuted. He didn’t hurt anyone but himself.

I’m so glad the president changed his mind. After the tens of thousands of lies Donald Trump has told, don’t say one word to me about Joe Biden. Just don’t.

— Carol Mascia, Garden City South