Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Who will pardon the pardoner?

"Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House." "Last month, Biden pardoned his son Hunter for tax and gun crimes, despite his previous pledges not to do so. Biden issued blanket pardons for his brother James and his wife Sara; his sister, Valerie, and her husband John Owens; and his brother Francis." AP. For what crimes? "The Supreme Court reinforced on multiple occasions that people can reject pardons." In 1915, in the case of Burdick v United States, the Supreme Court ruling "included a line saying a pardon 'carries an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it'." Politifact. Biden's excuse for the pre-emptive pardons is that his family has been "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me," and "Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end." Equally unfortunately, that does not pass the smell test. (dictionary). In June 2024, "Hunter Biden was convicted...of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president's son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs." AP. This was after a trial. On 5 September, "Robert Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles this afternoon to all counts in a nine-count indictment, including three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offences. There was no plea agreement." justice.gov. Meaning that Hunter Biden voluntarily pleaded guilty. What was the hurry? Probably because a trial would have taken time and may have carried on beyond 20 January 2025 when Donald Trump was to be sworn in. (wikipedia). On 19 September, "Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after the judge agreed...to a delay requested by the defense." "He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Nov 13, but the judge agreed to delay the hearing until Dec 4 after Hunter Biden's lawyers said they needed more time to adequately prepare." AP. Why would Hunter's lawyers need three months to make a list of mitigating circumstances to argue before sentencing (John Helms)? Was it because the US presidential election was to be held on 5 November (wikipedia) and if Kamala Harris won she would pardon Hunter? If she lost, then dad would. But, why the blanket pardon for sister and brothers and their spouses? Why didn't they reject the pardons if they were innocent? That forces us to believe that they were guilty of something worse than a violation which is not considered a crime and carries a maximum potential sentence of 15 days in prison. A misdemeanor carries a sentence of less than one year and a felony for more than one year in prison. (Bill Legal). The prospect of a long sentence in prison cannot be pleasant. Also, they know Joe Biden for a long time and could reveal embarrassing details during their trial. That then begs the question: What is Joe Biden hiding? What an odious family of criminals! And, Joe Biden was the 46th President of the US of A  (Britannica). So, who will pardon Ole Joe?

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