It was an action that President Joe Biden repeatedly pledged he would not take.
But when he broke his promise and pardoned his troubled son Hunter for crimes he’s pleaded guilty to — and those he may not have been charged with going back a decade — Biden’s fellow Democrats in the Delaware Valley had little to say about it.
Except for Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan and Chester County Democratic Chair Charlotte Valyo, a cone of silence has descended over DelVal Democratic lawmakers asked to comment about Biden’s pardon.
In a statement, Biden claimed his own Department of Justice was tainted by politics, a claim most pundits dismissed as unserious.
“It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” Biden said. “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the courtroom – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.”
In fact, the Department of Justice attempted to give Hunter Biden a favorable deal that was only derailed when the judge raised questions about what appeared to be special treatment for the president’s son.
As IRS agents Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley wrote in The Wall Street Journal, “President Biden’s pardon is an insult to every honest taxpaying American. He claimed that his own Justice Department unfairly targeted his son. On the contrary, we produced mountains of evidence and testified under oath about the machinations his Justice Department, including (Special Counsel David) Weiss, used to shield the Biden family from a thorough investigation of alleged corruption in Ukraine, Romania, and China.”
The timeline of the pardon, from 2014, dates from when the younger Biden joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. It pardons him for any “offenses he has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.
Republicans have accused Joe Biden of benefiting from his son’s business deals with Ukraine and China while he was vice president under President Barack Obama.
Houlahan (D-Chester) said, “While I understand the instinct to protect one’s family and share the concern that President-Elect Trump will use his administration’s powers to punish his personal and political enemies, I am disappointed that President Biden pardoned his son Hunter. I still believe that no one should be above the law and will continue to use my voice to call out this and other examples of unwarranted immunity from our justice system.”
Valyo used the opportunity to criticize President-elect Trump.
“The pardon power exists to undo unjust prosecutions,” said Valyo. “The charges against Hunter Biden would have been dismissed or settled without a criminal verdict if the defendant were anyone except the son of President Biden. Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, his daughter’s father-in-law, even though he was convicted of much more egregious crimes and has made it clear he intends to pardon the January 6th insurrectionists.”
Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Delaware) declined to comment. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey Jr. also refrained from commenting.
And Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), the former state attorney general, also declined to respond to DVJournal’s request for comment. He did the same when Politico asked him about the pardon.
The Democratic Party chairs for Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery Counties did not respond to requests for comment on the presidential pardon.
On the other side of the aisle, neither Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick nor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) responded to requests for comment.
Ironically, Trump is one person who isn’t surprised by Biden’s actions.
In October, Trump told Fox News, “I wouldn’t do anything that would be overt in terms of Hunter. It’s a sad situation. I’ll bet you the father probably pardons him.
“But he’s a bad boy,” Trump added. “No question about it.”
