Ap, Reuters and Afp
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, December 3, 2024, p. 24
Washington. The White House yesterday justified and defended the controversial decision of the outgoing president, Joe Biden, to pardon his son Hunter, whose lawyer requested that the accusations against him be dismissed.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said from Air Force One, which took the president on an official visit to Angola, that the president had problems with the decision, but that he felt that his son’s case was tainted by politics, although he tried to find balance by insisting that he had faith in the Justice Department. He believes in the justice system, but also believes politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice.said.
Journalists on the flight had more questions about the pardon than about investing in Africa, the purpose of the trip.
The president left the country shortly after pardoning his son, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and been convicted on firearms charges.
Biden did not respond to reporters about the pardon during a brief refueling stop in Cape Verde on Monday.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s lawyer asked that the charges be dropped. The president’s total and unconditional pardon requires the dismissal of the accusation against Hunter, his attorney wrote in documents filed Sunday in connection with the criminal tax and weapons cases against him.
Members of the administration have privately expressed their anguish over Biden’s statement, including his claim of an unfair and politically tinged prosecution of his son, echoing complaints by future President Donald Trump – who faced now-dropped accusations for his role in the attempt to subvert the 2020 election – has been making about the Justice Department for years.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: That justice system must be fixed and due process must be restored to Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do when he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the people..
