[Reporter’s Notebook] The Pardon Biden Gave to Trump

"A Lame Duck Can Still Swim." This is a commentary published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) after U.S. President Joe Biden pardoned his second son, Hunter Biden. President Biden, who had publicly declared that he would neither pardon nor reduce sentences, reversed his stance after six months and embraced his son. In the statement released by President Biden on the 1st (local time), there was no apology, only a politician’s request to "understand his decision." The expressions of those inside and outside the Democratic Party who felt betrayed, the ridicule from conservatives, and the cynicism from centrists saying "typical politician" all fall on President Biden.

There is also a humanly understandable aspect to President Biden’s pardon decision. Hunter had been found guilty in June of illegal firearm possession and tax evasion charges and was awaiting sentencing this month. Theoretically, the maximum sentences could have been up to 25 years for the firearm violation and up to 17 years for tax evasion. The fear of potentially losing his second son after already having lost his eldest son to a brain tumor must have overwhelmed President Biden and his wife.

This is not the first time a former U.S. president has pardoned a family member. Former President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, who had cocaine use charges, and President-elect Donald Trump also pardoned his father-in-law near the end of his first term. Judging by the statement that "Hunter Biden was targeted by prosecutors simply because he is my son," President Biden may have considered his son the victim.

However, this incident will become a shackle for the Democratic Party for a long time. It gives President-elect Trump grounds to pardon the rioters who stormed the Capitol in 2021 following his incitement. Even if Trump fills his cabinet with loyalists and frees his imprisoned aides, if the Democrats attack, it will be seen as hypocrisy. When the U.S. Supreme Court recognized Trump’s immunity, Biden’s criticism that "no one is above the law" became a boomerang aimed back at himself and the Democratic Party.

The local media are sighing over President Biden’s pardon decision. Not only the WSJ but also progressive-leaning outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post have criticized President Biden for tarnishing his own legacy. President-elect Trump has shed the judicial risks that once bound him through his election victory, and the Republican Party now controls both chambers. The moral high ground that the Democrats claimed has disappeared due to Biden’s reversal. It is already frightening to imagine what kind of "last dance" President-elect Trump will perform over the next four years, now that there is nothing left to stop him.