DV Journal

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.”

Blame the “Shawshank Redemption” for Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s votes to free 38 convicted murderers.

That appeared to be Fetterman’s explanation for what critics call a soft-on-crime approach to his duties as chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons.

“So you know, I believe in redemption,” Fetterman said. “And I would just ask anyone watching, I would say if you’ve seen ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ the movie, and if you, at the end of the movie, you would vote to have Morgan Freeman’s, uh, character die in prison, then that’s really those, that’s the choice, that’s really, that you look at, at the end of it. And if somebody’s done 40, 45, or even more than 50 years, and they’ve had a perfect record, and they have demonstrated a lot of remorse for what’s done. I haven’t met a single person that said, ‘Yeah, Morgan Freeman should die in prison.’ It’s all a choice on redemption.”

Coming from the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, the policy-via-cinema approach created an instant reaction.

“Shawshank Fetterman, A Convicted Murderer’s Best Friend,” quipped Brittany Yanick, communications director for his GOP opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Delaware Valley residents took to social media to offer their thoughts.

In Elkins Park Happenings Uncensored, Joey McLoughlin said, “Fetterman and (Gov. Tom) Wolf totally ****ed the state. Please no more of this liberal elite.”

“Fetterman is not qualified,” added Laura Barrett Young.

On the West Chester Community Facebook site, Caroline Specht said, “I’ll answer with another question: ‘What would you say to the family of the victim if Freeman’s character was released?’

“I’m all for paying one’s debt, second chances, and recovery. It depends on the circumstances in each case. But if you take a life, then a life sentence is how most global societies have decided to treat that crime. Take away that punishment and what are you saying about the value of those victims’ lives?” she asked.

Fetterman’s comments also inspired a broader conversation about the U.S. Senate contest.

“Fetterman is your best bet,” said Tricia Shore, and she linked to a negative article about Oz.

One Twitter follower said, “The @NBCNews interview with Fetterman was a media hit job and focused more on the man’s auditory disability- not his campaign and the policies he stands for. Do we only think that able-bodied citizens should serve as politicians? How about the morbidly obese like Trump?”

Also on the West Chester page, Bret Rappaport said, “Actually in most other first world countries the idea of a ‘life sentence’ doesn’t exist in most scenarios the same as it does in the U.S.A. as they all have a chance for parole after [x] years. The U.S. is one of the few that has the concept of a life sentence with no chance of parole.”

Greg Carlson said this on Everything Delco, “I think he’s really messed up from that stroke. We need sharp, healthy people in those types of positions. All the ads bring up how Oz moved to Pennsylvania to run and how wrong it is, but Queen Hillary did the same thing in New York, and that’s totally fine. At least Oz went to school here.”

On West Chester Community, David Pryze said, “It’s all about the economy. That should be your number 1 thought right now. A guy who doesn’t want to pay his taxes should tell you everything you need to know.”

Also, on West Chester Community, Suzanne Ellen said in part, “We see that we have a president who is cognitively impaired, and how much damage that is doing. Can Pennsylvania afford to have a senator who is cognitively impaired and who may not be able to handle the stress of living and working in D.C.? Shame on the Democrat Party for not having someone in the wings who could take over and run for Senate with a good bill of health in his portfolio.

“I read the other day that Fetterman has had (heart) issues for five years, but that only recently came to light. It is absolutely dishonest to withhold that information from the public at an earlier stage in the election process than this. Again, shame on the Democrats. When you see people of the caliber of Tulsi Gabbard leaving the Democrat Party, Democrats should be waking up. The party is collapsing.”

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