{"id":2343262,"date":"2024-09-19T08:30:57","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-pled-guilty-so-his-corrupt-dad-can-pardon-him\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T08:34:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:34:07","slug":"hunter-biden-pled-guilty-so-his-corrupt-dad-can-pardon-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-pled-guilty-so-his-corrupt-dad-can-pardon-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Biden Pled Guilty So His Corrupt Dad Can Pardon Him"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhunter-biden-pled-guilty-so-his-corrupt-dad-can-pardon-him%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2343262&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hunter \u2064Biden recently pled guilty to \u200dnine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-hoax-goes-to-trial-years-after-soros-backed-d-a-kim-foxx-dropped-charges\/\" title=\"Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax Goes to Trial Years After Soros-Backed D.A. Kim Foxx Dropped Charges\">felony counts related<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/weissmann-lashes-out-at-trump-over-manafort-stone-pardons-cooks-up-new-plot-to-prosecute-them-for-perjury-and-obstruction\/\" title=\"Weissmann Lashes Out at Trump Over Manafort, Stone Pardons \u2013 Cooks Up New Plot to Prosecute Them for Perjury and Obstruction\">tax evasion<\/a> just as jury selection \u200dfor his trial was set\u200c to\u2063 begin. This last-minute plea is unusual, \u2063especially since \u2062it didn&#8217;t involve any agreement for \u2062reduced sentencing or dismissal\u200b of charges, and his \u2062initial request for an Alford plea was rejected by prosecutors. \u2064He now potentially faces significant prison time, with sentencing hearings scheduled \u2064for November and December.<\/p>\n<p>The possibility of\u2063 a presidential pardon looms over the situation, as the U.S. Constitution grants \u200dthe president the exclusive power to pardon offenses against the country. While the Department of Justice typically requires a waiting\u200c period and demonstration of good conduct before a pardon\u200d is granted, the president has the discretion to bypass\u200d these regulations. Historical instances show that presidents have granted pardons without following the usual procedures. <\/p>\n<p>However, a pardon for his son would likely be politically contentious for President Biden, who publicly stated\u200b he would not consider pardoning Hunter if convicted in his upcoming trial. This stance underscores the\u200b complex interplay of legal and political factors \u200dsurrounding Hunter Biden\u2019s legal troubles\u200b and the potential\u200b for\u200c presidential intervention.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Is a pardon for Hunter Biden a foregone conclusion? It looks like Hunter Biden thinks so. On the day jury selection was scheduled to begin in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-sentencing-set-for-november-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden sentencing set for November - Washington Examiner\">federal tax evasion trial<\/a>, Hunter surprisingly and suddenly pleaded guilty on all nine felony counts with which he had been charged.<\/p>\n<p>A last-minute guilty plea, extended without any reciprocal offer of a sentencing reduction or government dismissal of any of the charges, is rare in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terrorism-homicide-prosecutors-brought-in-to-try-capitol-riot-defendants-for-crimes-like-trespassing\/\" title=\"Terrorism, Homicide Prosecutors Brought In To Try Capitol Riot Defendants For Crimes Like Trespassing\">federal criminal cases<\/a>. Hunter&rsquo;s initial offer of an Alford plea, which would have allowed him to plead guilty while maintaining his innocence, was rejected by the government, with the lead prosecutor&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hunter-biden-alford-plea-explanation-b5ade008c4520fc74f3dbcdbfc4aec2b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">telling the judge<\/a>&nbsp;that Hunter &ldquo;is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He now faces up to 17 years of imprisonment in the tax trial as he awaits sentencing for up to 25 years in his Delaware firearms trial that concluded in June. Hunter will learn the severity of his sentences at hearings on November 13 and December 16 &mdash; unless, of course, he is saved by a presidential pardon from his dad.<\/p>\n<p>The pardon power is one of the few authorities the U.S. Constitution consigns exclusively to the president. It states the president alone &ldquo;shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court held as early as 1866 that the scope of the pardon power is unlimited. Although the president may always seek advice on potential pardons from people inside or outside of government, what the Supreme Court called &ldquo;[t]he benign prerogative of mercy&rdquo; is &ldquo;reposed in him&rdquo; alone and &ldquo;cannot be fettered by any legislative restrictions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Potential pardons are usually vetted by the Office of the Pardon Attorney within the Department of Justice. Normally, a pardon will only be granted if the petitioner has &ldquo;demonstrated good conduct for a substantial period of time after conviction and service of sentence,&rdquo; and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/cfr\/text\/28\/1.2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOJ regulations<\/a>&nbsp;require an individual to wait five years after conviction or release from confinement, whichever is later, before filing a petition for pardon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/jm\/jm-9-140000-pardon-attorney#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20a%20pardon%20is,conviction%20and%20service%20of%20sentence.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Factors the pardon attorney considers<\/a>&nbsp;in assessing whether to recommend a pardon include the petitioner&rsquo;s post-conviction conduct, character, and reputation; the seriousness and relative recentness of the offense; acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement; need for relief; and official recommendations and reports. Needless to say, even with his voluntary guilty plea, most of these factors do not favor Hunter Biden.<\/p>\n<p>However, as the Office of the Pardon Attorney&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/CHRG-107shrg76344\/html\/CHRG-107shrg76344.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has acknowledged<\/a>, &ldquo;these rules do not bind the President. The President retains the authority under the Constitution to consider a pardon request from an individual who is ineligible to apply under the regulations or who has not applied at all, and to grant clemency to such a person if he believes such action is appropriate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There is thus a long tradition of presidents jumping the gun and granting pardons to individuals who never applied through the formal DOJ clemency process. For example, in the infamous case of President Clinton&rsquo;s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, &ldquo;none of the regular procedures . . . were followed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In that case, the Office of the Pardon Attorney was not informed that the president was even considering a pardon until less than 12 hours before the expiration of President Clinton&rsquo;s term. The office was only able to complete a cursory online background check before the pardon was granted. Clinton&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/clinton-regrets-rich-pardon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">later confessed<\/a>&nbsp;that the pardon &ldquo;was terrible politics&rdquo; and &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t worth the damage to my reputation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A pardon of the president&rsquo;s own son would be &ldquo;terrible politics&rdquo; <em>before<\/em> the election, a fact that President Biden seemed to recognize when he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/joe-biden\/biden-says-will-not-pardon-son-hunter-biden-convicted-gun-related-char-rcna155920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">publicly ruled out<\/a>&nbsp;pardoning Hunter if he were convicted in his first criminal trial. The White House&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/09\/05\/white-house-biden-wont-pardon-son-00177551\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">maintained this position<\/a>&nbsp;after his recent guilty plea.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the conditions for a presidential pardon are now more propitious than they may have appeared in June, when Joe Biden last weighed in on the question. After all, Joe Biden is no longer a presidential candidate after being unceremoniously dumped from the Democratic ticket by his own party. Whereas a pardon could have once damaged his campaign or depleted his political capital at the start of a second term, the political impact would be negligible for a man with only weeks left in the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Biden has made his own opinion on the underlying allegations clear,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/09\/07\/hunter-biden-sentencing-guns-taxes\/75104799007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying in May 2023<\/a>&nbsp;that &ldquo;my son has done nothing wrong.&rdquo; Hunter&rsquo;s own lawyers&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/dec\/08\/hunter-biden-lawyer-republican-pressure\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have echoed<\/a>&nbsp;the president&rsquo;s narrative of political persecution, claiming that &ldquo;if Hunter&rsquo;s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges . . . would not have been brought.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If a pardon is the ultimate outcome that Hunter expects, his decision to plead guilty makes perfect sense. He has technically accepted responsibility for his actions while saving the time and embarrassment of another criminal trial. Only time will tell, but the smart money is on President Biden granting Hunter a full pardon after the November 5 election.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jonathan Fahey is a partner and Andrew Pardue is an associate at Holtzman Vogel, a national political, regulatory, and litigation law firm. They can be reached at jfahey@holtzmanvogel.com and apardue@holtzmanvogel.com.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Hunter Biden&#8217;s pardon a certainty? It seems that Hunter Biden believes it is. On the day jury selection was set to start for his federal tax evasion trial, he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all nine felony charges against him. Such a last-minute guilty plea, made without any offer of reduced sentencing or dismissal of charges from the government, is uncommon in federal cases. Initially, Hunter proposed an Alford plea\u2014which would allow him to plead guilty while asserting his innocence\u2014but this was rejected by the government; the lead prosecutor informed the judge that Hunter &#8220;is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.&#8221; He now faces up to 17 years in prison for tax-related offenses and awaits sentencing for a separate firearms case in Delaware, which could result in up to 25 years. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for November 13 and December 16\u2014unless he receives a presidential pardon from his father.<\/p>\n<p>The power of pardons is one of the few authorities granted solely to the president by the U.S. Constitution, which states that only the president &#8220;shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,&#8221; except in impeachment cases. The Supreme Court has ruled since 1866 that this power is unlimited; while presidents may seek advice on potential pardons from various sources, what has been termed &#8220;[t]he benign prerogative of mercy&#8221; rests solely with them and cannot be restricted by legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, potential pardons are reviewed by the Office of Pardon Attorney within the Department of Justice (DOJ). A pardon is usually granted only if an individual demonstrates good conduct over time after their conviction and sentence completion; DOJ regulations require individuals to wait five years post-conviction or release before applying for clemency. Factors considered include post-conviction behavior, character assessment, seriousness and recency of offenses, acceptance of responsibility and remorsefulness, need for relief, as well as official recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his voluntary guilty plea complicating matters further regarding these factors not favoring him significantly at present\u2014especially given his legal troubles\u2014there remains flexibility within presidential authority concerning pardons. The President can consider requests even if they do not meet standard eligibility criteria or have not formally applied.<\/p>\n<p>Historically speaking, there have been instances where presidents bypassed formal procedures when granting pardons\u2014for example during President Clinton\u2019s controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich where standard protocols were ignored entirely.<\/p>\n<p>A pardon granted by President Biden would likely be viewed unfavorably politically before an election\u2014a concern he seemed aware of when he previously stated he would not consider such action if Hunter were convicted during his first criminal trial\u2014a stance maintained even after Hunter&#8217;s recent guilty plea.<\/p>\n<p>However, circumstances surrounding a potential presidential pardon may now appear more favorable than they did earlier this year when Joe Biden last addressed it publicly; notably because Joe Biden no longer stands as a candidate following being removed from consideration by his party. While initially damaging politically during an active campaign or early second term period due its implications on political capital\u2014the impact might be minimal with just weeks left in office.<\/p>\n<p>Biden has expressed clear views regarding allegations against Hunter stating back in May 2023 that \u201cmy son has done nothing wrong.\u201d Similarly echoing sentiments about political persecution through claims made by Hunter\u2019s lawyers suggesting charges wouldn\u2019t exist had their last name been different reinforces this narrative further still.<br \/>\nIf indeed expecting a pardon ultimately drives Hunters decision-making process behind pleading guilty\u2014it aligns perfectly with accepting accountability while avoiding another drawn-out trial filled with public scrutiny.<br \/>\nOnly time will reveal outcomes ahead but speculation leans towards President Biden potentially issuing full clemency towards hunter following elections slated around November 5th.<br \/>\nJonathan Fahey serves as partner alongside Andrew Pardue who works as associate at Holtzman Vogel\u2014a national law firm specializing across political regulatory litigation sectors reachable via jfahey@holtzmanvogel.com &amp; apardue@holtzmanvogel.com respectively<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":2343263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/50911775498_a0733c550f_o.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[8773,32750,32528,12737,36160],"class_list":["post-2343262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-corruption","tag-guilty-plea","tag-hunter-biden","tag-pardon","tag-political-controversy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/50911775498_a0733c550f_o.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}