Biden’s Pardon? Not All Okay But Ignores His Major Accomplishments!

By Donald A. Collins | 4 December 2024
Church and State

(Credit: YouTube / screengrab)

Yes, Biden said, he never would pardon his son who was convicted of tax evasion and other crimes because he hoped the court system would understand the situation and offer him a fair sentencing process.

In his statement on December 2nd, Biden made clear his attitude about his son, but he failed to state the obvious that the incoming president had promised retribution on his enemies something which no president in our history had ever so publicly announced, and so obviously prepared to carry out.

Now everyone will pile on to Biden for breaking his word on Hunter, but most of us do not ever have this kind of difficult decision to make.

The Washington Post of December 3, featured several columnists who in various ways rated Biden for his decision.

One: “Biden had good reason to pardon Hunter. Except he promised he’d never do it.”

When it mattered politically, Biden insisted: No pardon.” Opinion by Ruth Marcus

Read it in full here.

Two: “Joe Biden pardons his son Hunter”

The president had promised not to pardon Hunter Biden, who was convicted of gun-related charges and had pleaded guilty in a tax case.” By Matt Viser

Read it in full here.

Three: “Mad about Hunter Biden’s shady deals? You should care about these, too.”

“Lawmakers should do something about family members of presidents cashing in on their proximity to power.” Opinion by Catherine Rampell

Read it in full here.

Of these who argued against Biden and his legacy alleged betrayal of his party after a distinguished 50-year political career, one columnist Eugene Robinson made in my opinion the most effective excuse Biden had for his action.

He said:

If I were President Joe Biden, I would have done the same thing. I would have pardoned a son who faced possible federal prison time not because of the crimes he committed, but because of me.

The president’s decision to absolve his son Hunter reneges on a campaign promise and can certainly be described as hypocritical. It creates a political problem for the Democratic Party and will be seen by many as a stain on Biden’s legacy. Obviously, Biden is prepared to accept those consequences. I would be, too.

Read it in full here.

Another Post columnist stated that Biden’s action was unavoidable. Despite his earlier claims he would not pardon his son.

It was titled “Hunter Biden’s pardon was inevitable.” It said “President Joe Biden tried to keep his feelings separate from his son’s legal travails. But then he saw the state of politics and justice and love prevailed.”

Read it in full here.

Of all the commentaries, I read the one that appeared on page one of the Wall Street Journal on December 3 and appeared surprisingly to be the most balanced and fair that I read. You can read it here.

Joe Biden made the central purpose of his presidency clear in his Inauguration Day address: “We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile,” he said at the U.S. Capitol, where a violent mob had tried that month to overturn his 2020 election victory. Biden’s aim would be to unify the nation and shore up its democratic institutions.

That is one reason why the president’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday may further damage his already tarnished legacy: The reprieve he ordered threatens to undercut one of the main propositions he offered for his election.

Read this balanced politically savvy review of the facts on WSJ’s 12/3/24 page one.

Now for my most important comment about Biden’s pardon, which may seem to sound as irrelevant, but to me, it is far more important than anything Biden did about his son. Before offering that commentary, I wish to underline the fact that the primary priority in Biden’s life at this point remains how his final living offspring now represents a non-negotiable fact that in his life seemed particularly definitive, namely, the loss of his wife, daughter and his other all-star son Beau nine years ago.

Biden’s legacy will no doubt suffer, but what he accomplished with his record of three grants that energized our economy and will be claimed as Trump’s doing should have been better claimed by the media, and now represents his principal legacy, which far outweighs any stupid or a seemingly immoral acts such as his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan or his failure to step down after his first term.

You can read here what those three acts have produced in the way of a long-term huge advantage for the United States again sadly to be claimed by a badly soiled Trump.

The article’s title: “Biden’s $1 trillion investment is a model for economic growth

The president’s achievement shows that the private and public sectors can work in tandem.

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin”

It is stunning, frankly, that the most successful and far-flung private-public collaboration in history — one that is transforming cities, states and regions — has gotten so little coverage from legacy media. It may be the most critical government-driven initiative since the GI Bill following World War II. Several aspects of this achievement stand out.

First, the sheer size of the investment (“$446 billion are for semiconductors and electronics, $91 billion for clean energy manufacturing, $182 billion for electric vehicles and batteries, $54 billion for biomanufacturing, $49 billion for heavy industry, and $188 billion for clean power”) means the effects will be felt for years, if not decades.

For years, politicians talked about reviving manufacturing jobs. With this trio of programs, Biden was able to boast, “Over 1.6 million construction and manufacturing jobs have been created over the last four years, and our investments are making America a leader in clean energy and semiconductor technologies that will protect our economic and national security, while expanding opportunities in red states and blue states.”

Second, the geographic spread means that modest-income communities (the people President-elect Trump used to identify as the “forgotten people”) have benefited immeasurably from the Democratic president’s initiative. The White House reported:

Early indications are that this is working: a recent Department of the Treasury report shows that clean energy investments are largely taking place in counties where median incomes, graduation rates, and employment rates are below the respective national aggregate rates. For instance, 75 percent of Inflation Reduction Act related private investments are in counties whose median household income are below the national level. CEA found that foreign direct investment in clean energy manufacturing is going to areas disproportionately affected by the “China shock,” places that experienced larger declines in manufacturing employment due to increased import penetration.

You can read the full powerful story of Biden’s most powerful yet not properly recognized actions here.

We all have difficult situations to make in our lives that often present very contradictory options, neither of which are good, attractive or easy. However, we do make them and regret them, and wish that circumstances never had any reason in which we felt compelled to break our word or to do something which is hurtful to people that we love and respect.

Yes, Biden had unique power none of us except a sitting President has and he used it!

But I forgive him completely because his record is so much better than that of the President Elect, and because Biden’s overall record, including comparing the number and circumstances of those pardons given by these two makes this family commitment, completely understandable to me.

Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC, has spent over 50 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of “From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”, “Trump Becoming Macbeth: Will our democracy survive?”, “We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”, “What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”, “Vote”, “Can Homo Sapiens Survive?”, “Will Choice and Democracy Win?”, “Can Our U.S. Survive 8 Plus Billion of Us”, “Economic Growth: A Cancer on all Earthly Life”, “On the Precipice of Political Disaster in 2024”, “Democracy at Red State Risk”, “Does Trump Go to Jail or to The Oval Office?” and “Trump: Pardon or Punish?: The Nixon Precedence Was Not A Trump Coup Denied!”.

President Biden pardons his son Hunter Biden

Hunter’s attorney reveals why Biden pardoned his son: ‘When Jack Smith threw in the towel on Trump…’

Trump also pardoned a family member during his first term

Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here