Will Trump Pardon Hunter Biden?

As the dust settles from the aftermath of the presidential election, there has been much speculation about what President-elect Donald Trump might do during his first days in office.

One question that has arisen is whether Trump will deign to pardon Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son who was convicted of gun and tax-related charges.

In late October, Trump indicated that he was open to the idea of saving Hunter’s bacon with a pardon. “I wouldn’t take it off the books,” he said during an interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. “Unlike Joe Biden, despite what they’ve done to me, where they’ve gone after me so viciously.”

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, speaking on “Fox and Friends” suggested that a broader “clemency package” could be in the offing between the president-elect and the Biden administration.

Special counsel Jack Smith is reportedly closing down his cases against Trump, whom he indicted on allegations of mishandling classified material and over his challenges to the 2020 election. McCarthy said that dropping the cases against Trump could enable President Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter, who was convicted on federal gun charges and who pleaded guilty to federal tax charges.
“I also think, from what I can gather, that sort of a deal is coming together because everyone understands that President Biden is going to pardon his son, Hunter. That is not going to go down well—at least if it’s in a vacuum because, of course, he vowed he wouldn’t do it, not that anyone took that too seriously,” McCarthy said on TV’s “Fox and Friends.” “But I think it goes down easier for the country if it’s kind of like a clemency package where the Biden-Harris Justice Department dismisses the two cases against former President Donald Trump, President-elect Trump, because they can’t be prosecuted at this point anyhow. He will be the sitting president of the United States. Then Biden pardons Hunter.”
“I think the signal that sends, hopefully, to these progressive prosecutors at the state level is that, you know, it’s time to ‘turn the page’ from lawfare, which proved to be a disaster for the Democrats, I think, in the election,” McCarthy said.

However, such a deal could also involve Trump pardoning Hunter when he takes office. The National Review’s Mark Antonio Wright supported the notion that Biden should first pardon Trump to shield him from further prosecution efforts. He compared this to Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon and suggested it could help to end the cycle of political lawfare and facilitate a smoother transition of power.

However, not all of Trump allies would support such a move. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), during an interview on NewsNation argued against pardoning the president’s son. “I don’t think he should pardon Hunter. I think we need to be very careful about having a dual system of justice where the powerful or the sons and daughters of the powerful get off scot-free,” he said. The senator did indicate he might support Trump commuting Hunter’s sentence instead of pardoning him.

On the other hand, others suggest Trump pardoning Hunter would be a good idea. British commentator Piers Morgan wrote a post on X in which he argued such a move “would go a long way to setting the right tone for brining a very divided America back together again.”

President Trump should pardon Hunter Biden. That would go a long way to setting the right tone for bringing a very divided America back together again.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 7, 2024

Hunter Biden was convicted on three gun-related charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges. He could be facing up to 25 years in prison for the gun charges alone. His sentencing is scheduled for December.