The presidential pardon power got pissed on by Trump. We have to stop being so damn worried about being "proper." What we need to learn to do is to walk up to them and without warning punch them in the face so hard they go down like a tree in a windstorm, then kick them so hard they never walk right again, then kick them hard enough that…
The presidential pardon power got pissed on by Trump. We have to stop being so damn worried about being "proper." What we need to learn to do is to walk up to them and without warning punch them in the face so hard they go down like a tree in a windstorm, then kick them so hard they never walk right again, then kick them hard enough that they never get up again.
These scum are home invaders. Do you worry about whether you're "following the rules" when your home is invaded? Following the damn rules is why we didn't indict the sonofabitch traitor on January 21, 2021, and then pursue every last one of the rest of the traitors.
1000% Agree. President Biden's pardon of his son was completely understandable. Biden laid out his reasoning and he is correct. It was the right thing to do; Hunter Biden would have been the target for Trump & Co.'s harshest cruelties.
I agree. I say Biden needs to step his pardoning game up to include others in Trump's crosshairs while he still can(Liz Cheney and the other January 6 committee members come to mind). The being nicey nice thing to Trump's full frontal assault on everything we hold dear is like taking a paperclip to a knife fight.
President Biden did right by his son, Hunter. The Trump administration would have treated him to whatever they could get away with…and then some. A well known fact!
TC, Because Biden earlier had stated he would not pardon Hunter, I viewed the pardon somewhat differently. I imagine Biden rightly feared for Hunter’s welfare in custody under a Trump retributive regime.
Robert, I usually agree with your opinions but I have to take exception to your criticism of Joe Biden’s pardon for his son Hunter. I’ll add my comments to the thread above. As noted above, Donald Trump’s pardons in his first term were egregious and his plans for pardons to come are even worse. Hunter Biden has paid all of his back taxes and penalties, and his gun ownership was brief. He was clearly targeted due to being Joe Biden’s son. And he would have been at risk in a Trump controlled justice system. The Bidens have been through enough. I’m glad that Joe Biden continues to show the courage of his convictions and in no way has he changed the standards for presidential pardons.
Paula, The thing I most regret is that legacy media pundits already are equivocating between Biden’s pardoning of his son to protect him from GOP retribution and Trump’s pardoning of political allies who committed some of the worst abuses of power.
Good, let them subpoena her. Her family is part of the reason we have Trump now and let her waste time in Congressional hearings. The more time MAGA spends on performance, the more they waste everyone's time and their base will hopefully finally get upset that they aren't actually governing and making life better for anyone. I genuinely believe forgot how bad the first time was.
I don't think they ever believed the first time was bad. Even then, he could do no wrong and was just being picked on unfairly no matter what he did while making America great again.
Kathleen, Thank you for writing. The only bit I would add is my hope that Biden not stop the pardons with his son but instead extend them to ensure protections for all deserving persons from draconian sentencing laws.
As usual, I find myself squarely in the middle on the Hunter pardon. While I want to stop being “nice” and fair-minded, it’s a pre-existing condition and based on fundamental values that I don't want to sacrifice or compromise. I fully agree with the decision, but am concerned about the repercussions. I won’t go as far as Robert and call the pardon a mistake, but perhaps it could have been handled better. It’s unfortunate that President Biden was so definitive in his previous statements; he gave himself no wiggle room. If anything, he should have set the stage and built the case before making the announcement.
Can you please explain why you think Biden should have “built the case”? And what wiggle room would he need?
The MAGA script changes constantly with the shifting of their defense of outrageous behavior. This pardon makes sense and it appears many of us welcome it.
I think for Mr Hubble to call it a mistake is a mistake. I’m very disappointed to read those words here. I have more respect than ever for Biden because of his stand for Hunter Biden.
I am very glad that Joe Biden pardoned his son, for all the reasons given above. His crimes were minimal compared to those that trump pardoned, and he made restitution. He would have been cruelly mistreated by the trump administration.
MAGA never acknowledge that anyone has made a legitimate point or criticism. They just start talking about something else. Or insulting you. Or posting clown faces. Or being clowns. Speaker Johnson today railed about how our justice system has been irreparably damaged by the way the Bidens have used it. Considering the restraint of the DOJ in the Biden administration and the retribution Trump has in mind for his DOJ, Johnson really is unbelievable.
What I'm referring to comes down to expectations. We expect President Biden to be honest, keep to his word, and treat people with dignity. We expect the exact opposite from trump. I fully support the pardon, but I think President Biden needed to adjust expectations before he acted. By "wiggle room," I'm again referring to expectations; he could have said, "I have no intention..." but he was much more definitive.
Sorry to keep on about this but we are up against threats unimagined except by fiction writers of the past. I actually agree wholeheartedly with the standards you hold for our leaders, but the standards we’re dealing with are theirs not ours.
I believe if Joe Biden left his son who appears to be trying to become a better man vulnerable to the MAGA regime (the real enemy within) he would be useless.
Bob, Though just a guess, I imagine Biden’s pledge not to pardon Hunter neither accounted for a Trump win nor the likes of a Bondi or Patel appointment to DOJ and the FBI respectively.
Barbara Jo, I can't imagine that one has anything to do with the other either. I'm not suggesting that President Biden shouldn't have pardoned Hunter, I just wish he'd handled it better from the start. But if wishes were horses, we'd all be up to our necks in horse$#!+.
It's really kinda pointless to spend more time on this. What's done is done, and I don't think there's much that can be done to control the damage. The fact of the matter is that trump will use it as an excuse to pardon anyone who pledges fealty to him, and as a retort for criticism of the rogues' gallery he pardoned on his way out the door. He'll probably also use it as a shield for defending the likes of Charles Kushner, the convicted, pardoned, felonious father of his opportunistically corrupt son-in-law.
I think Biden's decision to pardon had everything to do with the retribution agenda Trump has in mind for his DOJ. Yes, he could have said "I have no intention..." but you know the media would have spent two weeks (after every time he or the press secretary said it) parsing whether he was leaving himself room to change his mind. Circumstances changed drastically from months ago when he made that statement. He was running for a second term, and he felt confident he would win. And under those circumstances he was not going to interfere in the justice system process, even though justice had gone over the ledge. He likely would not have asked for a pardon if Harris had won. But Trump threatening the very foundation of justice with Matt Gaetz or Pam Bondi, and then trying to unleash Kash Patel, who spent four years literally threatening to dismember the FBI or CIA on his way to dismembering Hunter--that it is time to reconsider.
Bob, You’re right. The pundits already are equivocating between Biden who pardoned his son to protect him from GOP retribution and Trump who pardoned political allies whose actions embodied some of the worst abuses of power.
Came here to post a comment, but you said it MUCH better than I could. The time for being nice ended when he slithered down that damn escalator in 2015.
The presidential pardon power got pissed on by Trump. We have to stop being so damn worried about being "proper." What we need to learn to do is to walk up to them and without warning punch them in the face so hard they go down like a tree in a windstorm, then kick them so hard they never walk right again, then kick them hard enough that they never get up again.
These scum are home invaders. Do you worry about whether you're "following the rules" when your home is invaded? Following the damn rules is why we didn't indict the sonofabitch traitor on January 21, 2021, and then pursue every last one of the rest of the traitors.
Being "nice" is how we got in this hole.
1000% Agree. President Biden's pardon of his son was completely understandable. Biden laid out his reasoning and he is correct. It was the right thing to do; Hunter Biden would have been the target for Trump & Co.'s harshest cruelties.
Absolutely! There is no comparison of President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden to DonOLD’s corrupt pardons. Screw it.
I agree. I say Biden needs to step his pardoning game up to include others in Trump's crosshairs while he still can(Liz Cheney and the other January 6 committee members come to mind). The being nicey nice thing to Trump's full frontal assault on everything we hold dear is like taking a paperclip to a knife fight.
President Biden did right by his son, Hunter. The Trump administration would have treated him to whatever they could get away with…and then some. A well known fact!
I'm afraid Biden did not find his gun, but he may have at least found his knife.
I was thinking that too. And Dr. Fauci. They're going to go after him too.
TC, Because Biden earlier had stated he would not pardon Hunter, I viewed the pardon somewhat differently. I imagine Biden rightly feared for Hunter’s welfare in custody under a Trump retributive regime.
Yes, there absolutely is that, based on Trump's own words and threats.
Robert, I usually agree with your opinions but I have to take exception to your criticism of Joe Biden’s pardon for his son Hunter. I’ll add my comments to the thread above. As noted above, Donald Trump’s pardons in his first term were egregious and his plans for pardons to come are even worse. Hunter Biden has paid all of his back taxes and penalties, and his gun ownership was brief. He was clearly targeted due to being Joe Biden’s son. And he would have been at risk in a Trump controlled justice system. The Bidens have been through enough. I’m glad that Joe Biden continues to show the courage of his convictions and in no way has he changed the standards for presidential pardons.
Agree. Totally. Hunter and the Biden family have suffered enough. I wish Hunter all the best; he has paid dearly for his demons.
I totally agree, Gail. Sorry, Robert.
Kim, While I can’t be certain, I don’t believe Biden would have pardoned his son had Harris/ Walz won the election.
I'm absolutely sure of that, Barbara Jo.
Paula, The thing I most regret is that legacy media pundits already are equivocating between Biden’s pardoning of his son to protect him from GOP retribution and Trump’s pardoning of political allies who committed some of the worst abuses of power.
Why am I not surprised?
Yes, if Harris had won I don’t believe he would have pardoned Hunter. He needs to pardon others, like Cheney, as well.
Pardoning people who have done no wrong, e.g., Cheney, is questionable: to what crime should she confess?
Yeah I don't understand this one. Why would he need to pardon Cheney? She has done nothing wrong...
Why does Liz Cheney need a pardon? All she did was tell the truth.
That's not what the Trumpscum are going to say when they go after her.
Good, let them subpoena her. Her family is part of the reason we have Trump now and let her waste time in Congressional hearings. The more time MAGA spends on performance, the more they waste everyone's time and their base will hopefully finally get upset that they aren't actually governing and making life better for anyone. I genuinely believe forgot how bad the first time was.
I don't think they ever believed the first time was bad. Even then, he could do no wrong and was just being picked on unfairly no matter what he did while making America great again.
Gina, Bear in mind that accepting a pardon is synonymous with admission to having committed a crime.
With good reason….
Interesting point, Barbara Jo!
Kathleen, Thank you for writing. The only bit I would add is my hope that Biden not stop the pardons with his son but instead extend them to ensure protections for all deserving persons from draconian sentencing laws.
💯
He needs to pardon Leonard Peltier now. And to your point, the pearl clutchers need to get over themselves.
Yes, do it now.
As usual, I find myself squarely in the middle on the Hunter pardon. While I want to stop being “nice” and fair-minded, it’s a pre-existing condition and based on fundamental values that I don't want to sacrifice or compromise. I fully agree with the decision, but am concerned about the repercussions. I won’t go as far as Robert and call the pardon a mistake, but perhaps it could have been handled better. It’s unfortunate that President Biden was so definitive in his previous statements; he gave himself no wiggle room. If anything, he should have set the stage and built the case before making the announcement.
Can you please explain why you think Biden should have “built the case”? And what wiggle room would he need?
The MAGA script changes constantly with the shifting of their defense of outrageous behavior. This pardon makes sense and it appears many of us welcome it.
I think for Mr Hubble to call it a mistake is a mistake. I’m very disappointed to read those words here. I have more respect than ever for Biden because of his stand for Hunter Biden.
I am very glad that Joe Biden pardoned his son, for all the reasons given above. His crimes were minimal compared to those that trump pardoned, and he made restitution. He would have been cruelly mistreated by the trump administration.
Agreed, Kathy.
MAGA never acknowledge that anyone has made a legitimate point or criticism. They just start talking about something else. Or insulting you. Or posting clown faces. Or being clowns. Speaker Johnson today railed about how our justice system has been irreparably damaged by the way the Bidens have used it. Considering the restraint of the DOJ in the Biden administration and the retribution Trump has in mind for his DOJ, Johnson really is unbelievable.
What I'm referring to comes down to expectations. We expect President Biden to be honest, keep to his word, and treat people with dignity. We expect the exact opposite from trump. I fully support the pardon, but I think President Biden needed to adjust expectations before he acted. By "wiggle room," I'm again referring to expectations; he could have said, "I have no intention..." but he was much more definitive.
Sorry to keep on about this but we are up against threats unimagined except by fiction writers of the past. I actually agree wholeheartedly with the standards you hold for our leaders, but the standards we’re dealing with are theirs not ours.
I believe if Joe Biden left his son who appears to be trying to become a better man vulnerable to the MAGA regime (the real enemy within) he would be useless.
Bob, Though just a guess, I imagine Biden’s pledge not to pardon Hunter neither accounted for a Trump win nor the likes of a Bondi or Patel appointment to DOJ and the FBI respectively.
Barbara Jo, I can't imagine that one has anything to do with the other either. I'm not suggesting that President Biden shouldn't have pardoned Hunter, I just wish he'd handled it better from the start. But if wishes were horses, we'd all be up to our necks in horse$#!+.
It's really kinda pointless to spend more time on this. What's done is done, and I don't think there's much that can be done to control the damage. The fact of the matter is that trump will use it as an excuse to pardon anyone who pledges fealty to him, and as a retort for criticism of the rogues' gallery he pardoned on his way out the door. He'll probably also use it as a shield for defending the likes of Charles Kushner, the convicted, pardoned, felonious father of his opportunistically corrupt son-in-law.
I think Biden's decision to pardon had everything to do with the retribution agenda Trump has in mind for his DOJ. Yes, he could have said "I have no intention..." but you know the media would have spent two weeks (after every time he or the press secretary said it) parsing whether he was leaving himself room to change his mind. Circumstances changed drastically from months ago when he made that statement. He was running for a second term, and he felt confident he would win. And under those circumstances he was not going to interfere in the justice system process, even though justice had gone over the ledge. He likely would not have asked for a pardon if Harris had won. But Trump threatening the very foundation of justice with Matt Gaetz or Pam Bondi, and then trying to unleash Kash Patel, who spent four years literally threatening to dismember the FBI or CIA on his way to dismembering Hunter--that it is time to reconsider.
Bob, You’re right. The pundits already are equivocating between Biden who pardoned his son to protect him from GOP retribution and Trump who pardoned political allies whose actions embodied some of the worst abuses of power.
First priority should have been Russian interference in the election.
I agree. My local news reported Biden's pardon of Hunter while also mentioning pardons previously done by Clinton and trump.
Came here to post a comment, but you said it MUCH better than I could. The time for being nice ended when he slithered down that damn escalator in 2015.
Agreed. It started with Al Gore and has only continued.
Take a listen to Keith Olberman’s Countdown with Keith Olberman podcast.
In the face of all the lies and misinformation we have been subjected to over many long years
I always wondered why we had to be nice and proper. I say “go for the jugular”
Thank you.