Many readers below have repeated / liked the comment by TCinLA, which expresses agreement with Biden's pardon of his son. TC also expresses the anger that many people feel over the sense that we must be "proper" while the other side breaks the rules. I started to reply to each of the emails below, but realized that it would be more efficient to do a group response. Here it is:
TC: I am not worried about being "proper." I am worried that Biden is undermining confidence in the justice system.
Many readers below say that Hunter Biden was treated unjustly because he is the president's son. That is undoubtedly true. But lots of people are treated unjustly every day because of who they are: Black teenagers; Hispanic men; trans kids; pregnant women.
But none of them have a dad who is president who can bail them out. What lesson does Biden's pardon of his son teach? Answer: If you are rich, well-connected, and white, a different standard of justice applies to you. That is a very bad message.
We aren't going to beat them by becoming them. If we do that, we lose.
"Let's bring a feather to a missile fight." These two are not the same. Your post, your opinion which I respect, but completely disagree with. 1000% I support Biden's decision to pardon Hunter. And I can only hope he pardons many people before leaving office.
I do too after reading about how they dont usually prosecute these type of cases . #Sistersinlaw discuss this as well . Hunter would be at the hands of vile, evil men who are seeking revenge not Justice. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 way to go Joe ~ Protecting your son .
I read the Filipkowski piece, but I don't understand his logic. Biden's pardon can only put to rest Hunter's convictions on the gun application and tax charges. How can it protect him against investigations or indictments for other crimes? The pardon doesn't put a box around Patel. He is still free to pursue his revenge by opening other additional FBI investigations. Or am I wrong about the limits of the pardon power?
Robert, I understand your POV but please tell me what Biden can do for all those people you mention who aren't his son? Can he pardon all of them? If so, he should. If not, he must do everything in his power to help them. It's not an either/or situation.
No, he can't pardon them all. But he can refuse to further enforce the notion that there are two systems of justice in the US. Granting pardons to all family members of the president just became of perk of the office, whether Joe Biden intended that result or not.
There are two systems of justice in the U.S. Trump has shown us that. I am happy Biden pardoned Hunter. BTW several presidents have pardoned family members and the country survived. Tired of the pearl clutching. Tired of the Democrats must be noble and pure. And that “perk” in the Constitution doesn’t say the Presidential pardons are not allowed for family members.
He couldn’t leave his son in the clutches of a madman bent on retribution. History (if it continues to exist) will approve of his decision. Btw I believe Hunter paid his back taxes.
Dump didn’t pay for a year or two and never paid back
In my view, the analogy breaks down. It was not just because of the class of persons he belonged to that this happened to Hunter. He was the singular member of this class. It was because of his name, and it was a singular political motivation to get at Joe Biden. The president can't fix everything about the retribution agenda that Trump has promised and is trying to staff up for, but this is one place where he could cut off the path through the maze and make the aggressor turn back. His presidential power righted an injustice. Just because he can't right every injustice does not mean he should right no injustice. This particular injustice has been going on for five years at great taxpayer expense and would go on at great taxpayer expense and energy—and distraction. He set right a wrong that should not have happened. These are not normal times. The sky did not fall in when Clinton pardoned his brother on his last day, and the country apparently didn't even notice Trump's persistent pattern of personally motivated pardons that had had zero to do with achieving a justice outcome. None whatsover. I see past the "son" factor to the greater issue of justice. If anything, I see that the president was willing to take a hit to his legacy not because he loves his son, which he does, but because it was imperative to clarify what justice is and what it is not.
Susan, The only bit I would add to your otherwise astute analysis is my hope that Biden not stop the pardons with his son but instead extends them to ensure protections for all deserving persons from draconian sentencing laws.
Sadly, I am disappointed with Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son. Many Americans who formerly had issues with drugs, and then lied on court filings or other paperwork/statements, have been punished with jail time. While it may be true that Hunter was unfairly targeted and punished excessively, he was enduring the same fate as other people in his situation.
You are worried about Biden undermining confidence in the justice system when the Supreme Court just gave Trump the right to do whatever he wants? For pardoning his son who faced the prospect of Trump style justice for the purpose of revenge for his losing the 2020 election? Pardon me but that is over the top and overly scrupulous.
Emily, As someone who, 16 hours ago, posted a comment on this site that, in part, read: “I imagine Biden rightly feared for Hunter’s welfare under a Trump retributive regime,” I so appreciate you calling attention to Maddow’s deeply affecting reporting this evening.
You summed up my feelings pretty perfectly here. The fact that our justice system is so unjust in the first place is unfortunate, however the facts of the matter are that if any of us did what Hunter Biden did, we'd probably be in jail at least for a short time. It makes the Democratic Party look bad and just gives Republicans more ammo, especially after Joe Biden said he wouldn't get involved. I agree with you, we should never stoop to their level. Some of us need to be the standard bearers and have a sense of decorum.
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.
My Democratic senator, Tim Kaine, has called out Elon Musk for threatening Alexander Vindman and the Vindman family. I'm so proud of him! But more so, please share what Senator Kaine said. We need to spread the truth to those who need it most.
“Message to Elon Musk—The Vindman family embodies patriotism and public service. You know nothing about either,”
Thank you for mentioning this Lynell. I read Alexander Vindman's reply to Musk's lies earlier this evening and was very impressed--once again--with Mr. Vindman's strong response. He is a true patriot and deserves our support and backing.
I hardly believe pardons will stop them for a second. They are 100% not planning to follow the constitution in any way. The nominees for each position are not even close to a surprise, they are exactly what is promised in project 2025 to destroy the government.
If the constitution is going to be dismantled, I think the democrats should do it now while there is a chance. Arrest and detain all of the j6 planners and participants in congress and scotus. Arrest and detain all of corrupt scotus members. Think outside the box to save our country and the world, otherwise we will be very sorry we didn’t take the only realistic chance left. There are no guardrails. Of course we must fight with everything we have, but are maga congresspeople going to listen? They absolutely will not.
Side note: read Bill HR 9218. Read lilith helstrom on substack and her interpretation of this bill.
If you read lilith helstrom, she lays out how HR 9218 also includes gender ROLES - which squarely puts women at home with babies, not working, not voting, etc. Terrifying.
I don't understand: How can anyone be pardoned without having committed a crime or having been convicted? People can't be pardoned for telling the truth and being patriots. Those are not crimes.
Not a lawyer. But a preemptive pardon for someone who has not been accused or convicted of a crime in a court of law seems like an extension of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity from prosecution, not a pardon. Either case, it seems a bad idea to throw either legal protections or pardons around too loosely.
Hunter plead guilty to be out of headlines during campaign. A non distraction,, a sacrifice. Now Trump will pardon all those guilty of desecrating the and killing. I am glad Biden gave himself the chance to have his son with him in the last years of his life and assured his granddaughter her father would be there. He earned it. He has done a remarkable job. We are headed to dark times
Robert, I agree with you most of the time, but on the Hunter Biden pardon I respectfully disagree. You nor I would not have been prosecuted to the degree they went after Hunter Biden. I say, F... them and F Trump. Biden needs to preemtivly pardon others ( if that is a thing that can be done) because this is going to be bad....
Lots of people are prosecuted unjustly because of who they are. Black teenagers. Adult Hispanics. Pregnant women. But because they don’t have a father who is president, they are prosecuted unjustly. What lesson do they take away from Hunter’s pardon? Answer: if you are white, rich, and politically connected, a different standard of justice applies to you. That undermines confidence in the justice system.
I have to say that the charges against Hunter Biden were the root of the issue. They were unfair and based solely on hurting president Biden. My poor husband was sliding into dementia and addiction and did not p
File or pay taxes for 5 years. When he finally allowed me to clean up this mess we paid the taxes and fines and the IRS never took any further action because his name wasn’t Biden. You are all speaking like you do not understand addiction. It is, in fact an illness and not a choice. Please have some compassion. Hunter Biden has already paid a much higher price than anyone not named Biden would have done. And remained sober. He deserves a pardon and considering the stakes around the presidency it is small potatoes.
I have two big problems with today’s post. The first is with the Hunter Biden issue. First you should read Joyce Vance’s response which totally presents the opposite of what was said in today’s post. She also quotes other attorneys general and justice department officials who all stated that the indictments were made only because it was Hunter, and John Doe would never have faced felony charges. Remember who the Special Council is? Read Joyce’s analysis and read the comments from people like Eric Holder, before you call Biden on the carpet. And don’t forget that Trump has already set the precedent for pardons and former Presidents like Clinton pardoned a family member and no one seemed to be bothered at the time. Let’s not treat this situation like the legacy media does. Joe did what was right to protect his son from Trump’s justice department which would be about the task of destroying Hunter. Let’s not forget what Trump’s plans are for the DOJ.
Second, I appreciate the coverage of nominees but I don’t need to know all the gory details. What’s the point? You’re basically preaching to the choir. I think, in all cases like this, we should get specific options for concrete action. It would be good to know who provides the best process for contacting our representatives? Are there orgs. that are setting up other kinds of activities that we might want to participate in? Where are the best places to park contributions to organizations that are in a position to take actions that we, as individuals cannot do? I think we need to shrink the amount of reporting we get about Trump and MAGA scandals and spend more time talking about what we can do and new ways we can attack the problems we face. We also should be ganging up on the DNC to use the volunteer infrastructure it set up for elections to take on broad mobilization efforts to resist Trump and his minions. I have been involved in DNC texting in past elections and have raised the issue, when there is a call to contact our representatives, why the text group couldn’t contact Democrats across the country asking them to contact their reps. and imbed the websites of orgs. that have set up the process to do this easily. We’ve got to do business differently and stop whining and wringing our hands and get about the business of resistance. We need to use the infrastructure we have in more creative and active ways to take on together the Trump threats.
Info on action is great, and Robert’s usual format is to include that. I have every confidence he will get there again. But I depend on Substack writers I trust (and some I even pay for) for their views on the news. Especially right now, TV is a useless barrage of noise. I have my curated writers and a few long-form journalism places. And Lawrence O’Donnell. So I don’t want less of that content from Robert. (I do agree with you about the pardon and Joyce Vance’s position. Barbara McQuade is another former US prosecutor who believes this pardon is an act of justice above all else, because the justice system had gone so grievously wrong.)
Brilliant idea about DNC. Sadly it won’t happen because it cost $ to make those calls and send texts and the DCN spent that on advertising on the Last Vegas dome!
Also agree about the details about Trumps nominations. I skim/scroll past. I don’t need to know the details. As Sarah Kendzior writes, Trump hides his crimes in scandal.
I refuse to worry in advance. Tell me what actions I can take to stop this, the rest is noise.
You’re not the first person to tell me the DNC strategy won’t work. I wonder if there is any way we could hold conversations with them about broadening the scope of the volunteer infrastructure and make it an ongoing effort that changed its focus after elections are over. The party has an incredible structure staffed by volunteers.
I’ll share a secret with you that underscores the points I have made above. I first got started in 2020 on Biden’s campaign doing texts. We really rocked and rolled as a team. I was one of the old farts on it. Before we finished, word went around about keeping in touch and kind of functioning as an online community after the election was over. That was shared with the DNC. I’m not sure what the result was, but we did a few things tangentially related to the 2022 campaign. And a few of us discovered we were back again in 2024. It don’t really think any of this was really supported by the powers that be. BUT I learned that the desire was there to do more than an election campaign…and that the texting group that I was a part of wanted this experience to be more than a “midnight stand”.
Steve, if you are still in the DNC slack maybe propose something. I’m looking to put together a Rapid Response team for all the Special Elections coming up.
I'm having a little trouble following this thread now that it's gotten so long, but if I read you correctly, you have a group of volunteers that wants to work all year round. I have followed you so if you need more members, please DM me. Tx!
I’m trying to see how I can contact someone at DNC about keeping the phone and fax groups active. If I am able to do that , I’ll get in touch with you and let you know how to get involved.
Nominations so far for DOJ, CIA and FBI show that the future administration has every intention to end the rule of law and will relentlessly go after political foes and critics. Hunter Biden would have been an ideal target for the revenge frenzy of the MAGA rank and file.
President Biden had very right and reason to not let his son become a sacrificial lamb on the altar of concerns that this pardon might be perceived as partisan or inappropriate.
We wouldn't be where we are, though, had the Biden administration not shrunk away from prosecuting the insurrectionists and their leader from day one out of the ridiculous concern it might be perceived as partisan or inappropriate.
As Truman rightly observed"the buck stops here", with the President, that is. The AG just like any other member of the Cabinet serves at the pleasure of the President. If he chooses not to protect the Constitution he should have been reigned in or replaced.
Your criticism of the Biden pardon is the most jejune and gormless position I have seen in this daily column. The idea that a virtuous exercise of government power could be a positive influence on future administrations is naïve to the point of fecklessness. I for one am happy to see Biden stop making pointless personal sacrifices.
Hunter should never have been charged. And certainly after the new administration arrives he would be harassed. Joe Biden did right for his son, for the country.
What about all the Black teenagers who should have never been charged but were because they are Black teenagers? How should they feel about a rich, white, well-connected adult male getting a pardon while they do not?
I agree with Victoria. What’s happened to others doe not appear to relevant. The amount of injustices not only to blacks is staggering. Each case deserves scrutiny. I think Biden, who had to retract what he said before, did right. The trumplicans were relentless about an issue that should not even had been tried. That’s my position, a privilege you offer us in your column.
We need to keep calling our elected representatives to urge them to do whatever they can to keep Trump's dangerous and totally unfit nominees from taking control of important government positions.
That subject far outweighs the need for media discussions ad nauseum about whether or not Hunter Biden should have been pardoned.
And if the parade of MAGA brown-nosers like Ted Cruz, in all his fake tan, "ring-lit" glory on the Sunday shows, keep saying Trump has a mandate to do what he's doing, we need to insist our representatives fight that lie as well. Trump won by a very small margin. We must not let him get away with lying about the size of his election victory as a way to justify his claim of having carte blanche to do whatever he wants to do in his second term.
I agree, CC. Here's an email I sent to my two Democratic Senators. I sent a similar, slightly toned-down version to my Republican (ughhh!) Congressman. Feel free to use any part of this in any phone calls, letters, emails, or face-to-face visits:
I am deeply disturbed by Donald Trump’s nominees for critical Cabinet and other advisory positions. It is becoming increasingly clear that he intends to follow through on his threats to exact revenge for what he claims, wrongly, to be wrongful persecution and prosecution of himself and his supporters. It is also clear that he intends to sow chaos in our government for some undisclosed purpose. The impact of his impetuous actions will be felt not only in our great nation, but across the globe.
As with his first term, he has the opportunity to do the right thing and serve the American people. Unfortunately, as with his first term, he seems to see that opportunity as an impediment to his personal ambitions. I implore you to resist his destructive actions and work to reinforce the checks and balances that our forefathers put in place to protect us from such behavior. I totally understand that a change in administration will result in policy and program changes, but what he is doing and apparently plans to do is beyond the pale.
We have serious issues to address, with the economy, immigration, environment, climate, and global stability all hanging precariously over the abyss. Please make sure we don’t allow chaos to reign.
The validity of President Biden's pardon of his son Hunter should not be calculated as a comparison to Trump's pardons. The fact is, the prosecution of Hunter was 100% political and a miscarriage of justice because similiar cases have historically been treated very differently in the the courts. Remedying a miscarriage of justice is the exact reason Presidential pardons exist.
I am glad Joe pardoned Hunter. A letter requesting he do so was on my to do list this week. Instead I sent an email thanking the President for pardoning his son, it was the right thing to do, in my opinion.
I have mostly left the USA because it is becoming a place where raising a daughter and being a woman is increasingly unsafe. For those women who do not realize it I feel sorry.
I am still counting on the US intelligence community and military community to use their expertise on combating enemies to use sabotage and subterfuge and slyness to thwart these appointments by the incoming administration and the Heritage Foundation. They want to destroy the US, I hope these agencies destroy them.
Mostly left?? "Mostly"? You have made the right choice. Now get rid of that "mostly". If the populace meekly surrenders to the terror you'll be glad you're elsewhere. Raise your daughter where there is still a rule of law not a bunch of animals wandering the streets looking for innocents to plunder, knowing that they will face no punishment for their depravity. But if some organized resistance shows up feel free to return and join the fight.
By mostly, I mean we have family still there. My daughter is in university here in Germany, my husband is still working there. I have joined resistance from abroad. I see Trump as renting our military out to the highest bidder who will rent from his hotel at billions a night, and everything else they can buy from him for such a deal. Who will it be. Same with our intelligence agencies, unless they use their spycraft to stop him.
The irony is the upcoming brain drain of mostly white, privileged, wealthy enough to leave US citizens departing the US because of politics. That leaves more minorities who will bear more minority children (I gather not the result MAGA wants). Over holidays I spoke with folks who feel raising kids in the US is unsafe - guns, changes in educational system, declining reproductive rights, and the subdued mood/risks with current politics.
PS: Yeah for Biden for pardoning his son. The link offered earlier is reason enough.
I will agree with you although I have Brown skin and have met other Brown skinned American women and men living in Germany, though not so many in the city I live in. So more affluent Americans Black, White and other are considering moving, as they should. Some are also German, which I am as well. Several of the Americans that I socialize with here, left the first time Trump was president and are mostly married to Germans. I live in a city with a lot of other Brown skinned people but most are not from the USA. When I went to Portugal I encountered a lot of Brown skinned women living there, many were American. In fact, I consider it really dangerous for women in the US, and have written an article to advise people on some ways one can leave. https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
As well as one on applying to University in Germany, which is free.
"much of the press is still reporting on the nominations as if they are the player line-up being announced at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday afternoon" - which is why I don't listen to much of the press anymore. MSNBC gone, except for Lawrence O'Donnell. Evening network news has little substance, Sunday "news" shows (lol, no). CNN - only an occassional non-politics show if that. The news media is a large part of the problem and they are complicit in Trump's barely won re-election. I just want facts now, without the hyperbole.
I hate to say this, but I am shocked (I mean that I feel I was naive) at how transparent the convicted felon is in trying to literally destroy the United States. It is shocking, disturbing and enraging. The Republican Party is actively going to destroy the US if we let them. We must fight. Calling our representatives doesn’t seem like enough. I’m going to work with a group to elect another Democratic governor here in NJ. What else can I do?
Many readers below have repeated / liked the comment by TCinLA, which expresses agreement with Biden's pardon of his son. TC also expresses the anger that many people feel over the sense that we must be "proper" while the other side breaks the rules. I started to reply to each of the emails below, but realized that it would be more efficient to do a group response. Here it is:
TC: I am not worried about being "proper." I am worried that Biden is undermining confidence in the justice system.
Many readers below say that Hunter Biden was treated unjustly because he is the president's son. That is undoubtedly true. But lots of people are treated unjustly every day because of who they are: Black teenagers; Hispanic men; trans kids; pregnant women.
But none of them have a dad who is president who can bail them out. What lesson does Biden's pardon of his son teach? Answer: If you are rich, well-connected, and white, a different standard of justice applies to you. That is a very bad message.
We aren't going to beat them by becoming them. If we do that, we lose.
"Let's bring a feather to a missile fight." These two are not the same. Your post, your opinion which I respect, but completely disagree with. 1000% I support Biden's decision to pardon Hunter. And I can only hope he pardons many people before leaving office.
I do too after reading about how they dont usually prosecute these type of cases . #Sistersinlaw discuss this as well . Hunter would be at the hands of vile, evil men who are seeking revenge not Justice. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 way to go Joe ~ Protecting your son .
Robert, sorry, but I agree with Ron Filipkowski here:
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/the-big-reason-why-hunters-pardon?r=17d5s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks for sharing.
I read the Filipkowski piece, but I don't understand his logic. Biden's pardon can only put to rest Hunter's convictions on the gun application and tax charges. How can it protect him against investigations or indictments for other crimes? The pardon doesn't put a box around Patel. He is still free to pursue his revenge by opening other additional FBI investigations. Or am I wrong about the limits of the pardon power?
Robert, I understand your POV but please tell me what Biden can do for all those people you mention who aren't his son? Can he pardon all of them? If so, he should. If not, he must do everything in his power to help them. It's not an either/or situation.
No, he can't pardon them all. But he can refuse to further enforce the notion that there are two systems of justice in the US. Granting pardons to all family members of the president just became of perk of the office, whether Joe Biden intended that result or not.
Jimmy Carter pardoned his brother Billy Carter who took over $200,000 from Libya as its foreign agent.
George H.W. Bush pardoned his son Neil Bush for his role in the S&L scandals of the 1980s.
Nobody thinks those pardons defined either presidency.
Joe Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden won't either.
There are two systems of justice in the U.S. Trump has shown us that. I am happy Biden pardoned Hunter. BTW several presidents have pardoned family members and the country survived. Tired of the pearl clutching. Tired of the Democrats must be noble and pure. And that “perk” in the Constitution doesn’t say the Presidential pardons are not allowed for family members.
He couldn’t leave his son in the clutches of a madman bent on retribution. History (if it continues to exist) will approve of his decision. Btw I believe Hunter paid his back taxes.
Dump didn’t pay for a year or two and never paid back
In my view, the analogy breaks down. It was not just because of the class of persons he belonged to that this happened to Hunter. He was the singular member of this class. It was because of his name, and it was a singular political motivation to get at Joe Biden. The president can't fix everything about the retribution agenda that Trump has promised and is trying to staff up for, but this is one place where he could cut off the path through the maze and make the aggressor turn back. His presidential power righted an injustice. Just because he can't right every injustice does not mean he should right no injustice. This particular injustice has been going on for five years at great taxpayer expense and would go on at great taxpayer expense and energy—and distraction. He set right a wrong that should not have happened. These are not normal times. The sky did not fall in when Clinton pardoned his brother on his last day, and the country apparently didn't even notice Trump's persistent pattern of personally motivated pardons that had had zero to do with achieving a justice outcome. None whatsover. I see past the "son" factor to the greater issue of justice. If anything, I see that the president was willing to take a hit to his legacy not because he loves his son, which he does, but because it was imperative to clarify what justice is and what it is not.
Susan, The only bit I would add to your otherwise astute analysis is my hope that Biden not stop the pardons with his son but instead extends them to ensure protections for all deserving persons from draconian sentencing laws.
Sadly, I am disappointed with Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son. Many Americans who formerly had issues with drugs, and then lied on court filings or other paperwork/statements, have been punished with jail time. While it may be true that Hunter was unfairly targeted and punished excessively, he was enduring the same fate as other people in his situation.
You are worried about Biden undermining confidence in the justice system when the Supreme Court just gave Trump the right to do whatever he wants? For pardoning his son who faced the prospect of Trump style justice for the purpose of revenge for his losing the 2020 election? Pardon me but that is over the top and overly scrupulous.
"If you are rich, well-connected, and white, a different standard of justice applies to you."
That is the system we have.
That's certainly the message that Joe Biden just reinforced. My point is that is a bad message, and we should stop making it true.
Robert, I hope you are watching Rachel Maddow tonight, 12/2/24.
Emily, As someone who, 16 hours ago, posted a comment on this site that, in part, read: “I imagine Biden rightly feared for Hunter’s welfare under a Trump retributive regime,” I so appreciate you calling attention to Maddow’s deeply affecting reporting this evening.
You summed up my feelings pretty perfectly here. The fact that our justice system is so unjust in the first place is unfortunate, however the facts of the matter are that if any of us did what Hunter Biden did, we'd probably be in jail at least for a short time. It makes the Democratic Party look bad and just gives Republicans more ammo, especially after Joe Biden said he wouldn't get involved. I agree with you, we should never stoop to their level. Some of us need to be the standard bearers and have a sense of decorum.
https://www.threads.net/@meidas_meeneesmom/post/DDGSbZku2LG?xmt=AQGzwoWFoECwHK14vqwpx8MIZ80LSTu0SxLhCHt_genrKQ
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.
My Democratic senator, Tim Kaine, has called out Elon Musk for threatening Alexander Vindman and the Vindman family. I'm so proud of him! But more so, please share what Senator Kaine said. We need to spread the truth to those who need it most.
“Message to Elon Musk—The Vindman family embodies patriotism and public service. You know nothing about either,”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-democrat-defends-vindman-against-musk-s-treason-threat/ar-AA1v0kqQ?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Thank you for mentioning this Lynell. I read Alexander Vindman's reply to Musk's lies earlier this evening and was very impressed--once again--with Mr. Vindman's strong response. He is a true patriot and deserves our support and backing.
I hope Eugene Vindman is next on the pardon list, along with Dr. Fauci and every single other person Trump has targeted.
I hardly believe pardons will stop them for a second. They are 100% not planning to follow the constitution in any way. The nominees for each position are not even close to a surprise, they are exactly what is promised in project 2025 to destroy the government.
If the constitution is going to be dismantled, I think the democrats should do it now while there is a chance. Arrest and detain all of the j6 planners and participants in congress and scotus. Arrest and detain all of corrupt scotus members. Think outside the box to save our country and the world, otherwise we will be very sorry we didn’t take the only realistic chance left. There are no guardrails. Of course we must fight with everything we have, but are maga congresspeople going to listen? They absolutely will not.
Side note: read Bill HR 9218. Read lilith helstrom on substack and her interpretation of this bill.
When MAGAs try to tell you Project 2025 is not real…..⬇️
H.R.9218 - Defining Male and Female Act of 2024
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/9218/text
S.5384 - A bill to abolish the Department of Education, and for other purposes.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/5384
If you read lilith helstrom, she lays out how HR 9218 also includes gender ROLES - which squarely puts women at home with babies, not working, not voting, etc. Terrifying.
Yes, I’ve been following author and Christian Nationalist “escapee”,Andra Watkins, as she “translates” P 2025.At this point,nothing surprises me…
https://open.substack.com/pub/andrawatkins/p/christian-nationalism-men-work-women?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
These people thought Handmaid's Tale was a guide and not a warning. Freaking sickening...
😱🤯🤬🤬🤬🤬🤯🤯😱😱
I do not believe we need to surrender in advance. Well aware that the outlook is not good. But I refuse to live in an unknown future.
What? Wait… why do Vindman and Fauci need pardons?
Trump is going to do his best to create specious cases against his enemies. Issuing pardons could preempt some of Trump's vengeful moves.
don't know about vindman, but here's the latest I could find about Fauci:
https://www.newsweek.com/anthony-fauci-prosecuted-maga-trump-1984607
But can he or anyone be preemptively pardoned without having first been prosecuted and convicted?
I don't understand: How can anyone be pardoned without having committed a crime or having been convicted? People can't be pardoned for telling the truth and being patriots. Those are not crimes.
They will go after them anyway. They need protection.
Can you pre-pardon people who haven’t been convicted of a crime?
Yes. Just like Ford pardoned Nixon who was never charged with a crime. They have threatened Vindman with Treason, and worse against Fauci.
Not a lawyer. But a preemptive pardon for someone who has not been accused or convicted of a crime in a court of law seems like an extension of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity from prosecution, not a pardon. Either case, it seems a bad idea to throw either legal protections or pardons around too loosely.
Those people haven't broken any laws though so is there anything to pardon?
The American Bar Association says it can be done. I'd post a screenshot of it if I could or paste, but cannot seem to do that either.
He's my senator too. Got to talk to him the night before the
Election in Williamsburg. Such a kind compassionate soul who really has the best interests of his constituents and the American people !
Hunter plead guilty to be out of headlines during campaign. A non distraction,, a sacrifice. Now Trump will pardon all those guilty of desecrating the and killing. I am glad Biden gave himself the chance to have his son with him in the last years of his life and assured his granddaughter her father would be there. He earned it. He has done a remarkable job. We are headed to dark times
Robert, I agree with you most of the time, but on the Hunter Biden pardon I respectfully disagree. You nor I would not have been prosecuted to the degree they went after Hunter Biden. I say, F... them and F Trump. Biden needs to preemtivly pardon others ( if that is a thing that can be done) because this is going to be bad....
Lots of people are prosecuted unjustly because of who they are. Black teenagers. Adult Hispanics. Pregnant women. But because they don’t have a father who is president, they are prosecuted unjustly. What lesson do they take away from Hunter’s pardon? Answer: if you are white, rich, and politically connected, a different standard of justice applies to you. That undermines confidence in the justice system.
I have to say that the charges against Hunter Biden were the root of the issue. They were unfair and based solely on hurting president Biden. My poor husband was sliding into dementia and addiction and did not p
File or pay taxes for 5 years. When he finally allowed me to clean up this mess we paid the taxes and fines and the IRS never took any further action because his name wasn’t Biden. You are all speaking like you do not understand addiction. It is, in fact an illness and not a choice. Please have some compassion. Hunter Biden has already paid a much higher price than anyone not named Biden would have done. And remained sober. He deserves a pardon and considering the stakes around the presidency it is small potatoes.
Robert please rethink this .
I have two big problems with today’s post. The first is with the Hunter Biden issue. First you should read Joyce Vance’s response which totally presents the opposite of what was said in today’s post. She also quotes other attorneys general and justice department officials who all stated that the indictments were made only because it was Hunter, and John Doe would never have faced felony charges. Remember who the Special Council is? Read Joyce’s analysis and read the comments from people like Eric Holder, before you call Biden on the carpet. And don’t forget that Trump has already set the precedent for pardons and former Presidents like Clinton pardoned a family member and no one seemed to be bothered at the time. Let’s not treat this situation like the legacy media does. Joe did what was right to protect his son from Trump’s justice department which would be about the task of destroying Hunter. Let’s not forget what Trump’s plans are for the DOJ.
Second, I appreciate the coverage of nominees but I don’t need to know all the gory details. What’s the point? You’re basically preaching to the choir. I think, in all cases like this, we should get specific options for concrete action. It would be good to know who provides the best process for contacting our representatives? Are there orgs. that are setting up other kinds of activities that we might want to participate in? Where are the best places to park contributions to organizations that are in a position to take actions that we, as individuals cannot do? I think we need to shrink the amount of reporting we get about Trump and MAGA scandals and spend more time talking about what we can do and new ways we can attack the problems we face. We also should be ganging up on the DNC to use the volunteer infrastructure it set up for elections to take on broad mobilization efforts to resist Trump and his minions. I have been involved in DNC texting in past elections and have raised the issue, when there is a call to contact our representatives, why the text group couldn’t contact Democrats across the country asking them to contact their reps. and imbed the websites of orgs. that have set up the process to do this easily. We’ve got to do business differently and stop whining and wringing our hands and get about the business of resistance. We need to use the infrastructure we have in more creative and active ways to take on together the Trump threats.
Info on action is great, and Robert’s usual format is to include that. I have every confidence he will get there again. But I depend on Substack writers I trust (and some I even pay for) for their views on the news. Especially right now, TV is a useless barrage of noise. I have my curated writers and a few long-form journalism places. And Lawrence O’Donnell. So I don’t want less of that content from Robert. (I do agree with you about the pardon and Joyce Vance’s position. Barbara McQuade is another former US prosecutor who believes this pardon is an act of justice above all else, because the justice system had gone so grievously wrong.)
Two things can be true: Hunter Biden could have been treated unjustly and it was unwise for Biden to pardon him.
Thousands of defendants are treated unjustly each year and will not be pardoned because they don’t have a powerful relative.
What are they supposed to think about a different standard of justice for the president’s family?
Follow Jessica Craven’s Substack “Chop Wood/Carry Water” for daily actions we can all participate in.
Yes.
The ACLU, Indivisible, Common Cause, Move On.
Brilliant idea about DNC. Sadly it won’t happen because it cost $ to make those calls and send texts and the DCN spent that on advertising on the Last Vegas dome!
Also agree about the details about Trumps nominations. I skim/scroll past. I don’t need to know the details. As Sarah Kendzior writes, Trump hides his crimes in scandal.
I refuse to worry in advance. Tell me what actions I can take to stop this, the rest is noise.
Follow Jessica Craven’s Substack “Chop Wood/Carry Water for daily actions to take.
Jessica is amazing!! She has excellent suggestions and is always on top of everything. Thank you for mentioning her.
You’re not the first person to tell me the DNC strategy won’t work. I wonder if there is any way we could hold conversations with them about broadening the scope of the volunteer infrastructure and make it an ongoing effort that changed its focus after elections are over. The party has an incredible structure staffed by volunteers.
I’ll share a secret with you that underscores the points I have made above. I first got started in 2020 on Biden’s campaign doing texts. We really rocked and rolled as a team. I was one of the old farts on it. Before we finished, word went around about keeping in touch and kind of functioning as an online community after the election was over. That was shared with the DNC. I’m not sure what the result was, but we did a few things tangentially related to the 2022 campaign. And a few of us discovered we were back again in 2024. It don’t really think any of this was really supported by the powers that be. BUT I learned that the desire was there to do more than an election campaign…and that the texting group that I was a part of wanted this experience to be more than a “midnight stand”.
Take care
Steve, if you are still in the DNC slack maybe propose something. I’m looking to put together a Rapid Response team for all the Special Elections coming up.
Melissa, Are you going to set up your response team through DNC slack? Right now the slack site is down.
Steve,
I'm having a little trouble following this thread now that it's gotten so long, but if I read you correctly, you have a group of volunteers that wants to work all year round. I have followed you so if you need more members, please DM me. Tx!
Paula,
I’m trying to see how I can contact someone at DNC about keeping the phone and fax groups active. If I am able to do that , I’ll get in touch with you and let you know how to get involved.
Thank you, Steve!
Nominations so far for DOJ, CIA and FBI show that the future administration has every intention to end the rule of law and will relentlessly go after political foes and critics. Hunter Biden would have been an ideal target for the revenge frenzy of the MAGA rank and file.
President Biden had very right and reason to not let his son become a sacrificial lamb on the altar of concerns that this pardon might be perceived as partisan or inappropriate.
We wouldn't be where we are, though, had the Biden administration not shrunk away from prosecuting the insurrectionists and their leader from day one out of the ridiculous concern it might be perceived as partisan or inappropriate.
The blame for the delay in prosecuting Trump and his supporters for January 6th lies squarely with AG Merrick Garland, not the Biden administration.
As Truman rightly observed"the buck stops here", with the President, that is. The AG just like any other member of the Cabinet serves at the pleasure of the President. If he chooses not to protect the Constitution he should have been reigned in or replaced.
That was Merrick Garland’s job. Up until now, as Trump is about to take office, the President did not get involved in DOJ matters.
Your criticism of the Biden pardon is the most jejune and gormless position I have seen in this daily column. The idea that a virtuous exercise of government power could be a positive influence on future administrations is naïve to the point of fecklessness. I for one am happy to see Biden stop making pointless personal sacrifices.
Hunter should never have been charged. And certainly after the new administration arrives he would be harassed. Joe Biden did right for his son, for the country.
What about all the Black teenagers who should have never been charged but were because they are Black teenagers? How should they feel about a rich, white, well-connected adult male getting a pardon while they do not?
I'm dismayed you would bring
race into this Robert. If this
was one of Obama's
daughters, family
members, or Kamala's, we
would all be saying it's the
right thing to do, regardless
of color or ethnicity.
I agree with Victoria. What’s happened to others doe not appear to relevant. The amount of injustices not only to blacks is staggering. Each case deserves scrutiny. I think Biden, who had to retract what he said before, did right. The trumplicans were relentless about an issue that should not even had been tried. That’s my position, a privilege you offer us in your column.
Strategically, on the other hand, it may have been unwise.
We need to keep calling our elected representatives to urge them to do whatever they can to keep Trump's dangerous and totally unfit nominees from taking control of important government positions.
That subject far outweighs the need for media discussions ad nauseum about whether or not Hunter Biden should have been pardoned.
And if the parade of MAGA brown-nosers like Ted Cruz, in all his fake tan, "ring-lit" glory on the Sunday shows, keep saying Trump has a mandate to do what he's doing, we need to insist our representatives fight that lie as well. Trump won by a very small margin. We must not let him get away with lying about the size of his election victory as a way to justify his claim of having carte blanche to do whatever he wants to do in his second term.
I agree, CC. Here's an email I sent to my two Democratic Senators. I sent a similar, slightly toned-down version to my Republican (ughhh!) Congressman. Feel free to use any part of this in any phone calls, letters, emails, or face-to-face visits:
I am deeply disturbed by Donald Trump’s nominees for critical Cabinet and other advisory positions. It is becoming increasingly clear that he intends to follow through on his threats to exact revenge for what he claims, wrongly, to be wrongful persecution and prosecution of himself and his supporters. It is also clear that he intends to sow chaos in our government for some undisclosed purpose. The impact of his impetuous actions will be felt not only in our great nation, but across the globe.
As with his first term, he has the opportunity to do the right thing and serve the American people. Unfortunately, as with his first term, he seems to see that opportunity as an impediment to his personal ambitions. I implore you to resist his destructive actions and work to reinforce the checks and balances that our forefathers put in place to protect us from such behavior. I totally understand that a change in administration will result in policy and program changes, but what he is doing and apparently plans to do is beyond the pale.
We have serious issues to address, with the economy, immigration, environment, climate, and global stability all hanging precariously over the abyss. Please make sure we don’t allow chaos to reign.
Thank you for this, Bob. I'm going to use it.
Well done, Bob.
Thanks, Mim!
Follow Jessica Craven’s Substack “Chop Wood/Carry Water” for daily actions to take.
The validity of President Biden's pardon of his son Hunter should not be calculated as a comparison to Trump's pardons. The fact is, the prosecution of Hunter was 100% political and a miscarriage of justice because similiar cases have historically been treated very differently in the the courts. Remedying a miscarriage of justice is the exact reason Presidential pardons exist.
I am glad Joe pardoned Hunter. A letter requesting he do so was on my to do list this week. Instead I sent an email thanking the President for pardoning his son, it was the right thing to do, in my opinion.
With Trump intending vengeance and full weaponization of the American justice system I agree.
I have mostly left the USA because it is becoming a place where raising a daughter and being a woman is increasingly unsafe. For those women who do not realize it I feel sorry.
I am still counting on the US intelligence community and military community to use their expertise on combating enemies to use sabotage and subterfuge and slyness to thwart these appointments by the incoming administration and the Heritage Foundation. They want to destroy the US, I hope these agencies destroy them.
Mostly left?? "Mostly"? You have made the right choice. Now get rid of that "mostly". If the populace meekly surrenders to the terror you'll be glad you're elsewhere. Raise your daughter where there is still a rule of law not a bunch of animals wandering the streets looking for innocents to plunder, knowing that they will face no punishment for their depravity. But if some organized resistance shows up feel free to return and join the fight.
By mostly, I mean we have family still there. My daughter is in university here in Germany, my husband is still working there. I have joined resistance from abroad. I see Trump as renting our military out to the highest bidder who will rent from his hotel at billions a night, and everything else they can buy from him for such a deal. Who will it be. Same with our intelligence agencies, unless they use their spycraft to stop him.
The irony is the upcoming brain drain of mostly white, privileged, wealthy enough to leave US citizens departing the US because of politics. That leaves more minorities who will bear more minority children (I gather not the result MAGA wants). Over holidays I spoke with folks who feel raising kids in the US is unsafe - guns, changes in educational system, declining reproductive rights, and the subdued mood/risks with current politics.
PS: Yeah for Biden for pardoning his son. The link offered earlier is reason enough.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/the-big-reason-why-hunters-pardon?r=17d5s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I will agree with you although I have Brown skin and have met other Brown skinned American women and men living in Germany, though not so many in the city I live in. So more affluent Americans Black, White and other are considering moving, as they should. Some are also German, which I am as well. Several of the Americans that I socialize with here, left the first time Trump was president and are mostly married to Germans. I live in a city with a lot of other Brown skinned people but most are not from the USA. When I went to Portugal I encountered a lot of Brown skinned women living there, many were American. In fact, I consider it really dangerous for women in the US, and have written an article to advise people on some ways one can leave. https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
As well as one on applying to University in Germany, which is free.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/study-abroad?r=f0qfn
"much of the press is still reporting on the nominations as if they are the player line-up being announced at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday afternoon" - which is why I don't listen to much of the press anymore. MSNBC gone, except for Lawrence O'Donnell. Evening network news has little substance, Sunday "news" shows (lol, no). CNN - only an occassional non-politics show if that. The news media is a large part of the problem and they are complicit in Trump's barely won re-election. I just want facts now, without the hyperbole.
📲✍️ Scott Dworkin makes it easy by providing talking points for each letter. ⬇️
If you haven’t yet please take a moment to send letters! We crossed 42,000! Wow!
To Senators on recess appointments: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-dont-allow-trumps-recess-appointments/
Opposing Kash Patel: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-trumps-dangerous-pick-of-kash-patel-for-fbi-director/
Opposing Bondi: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-trumps-selection-of-pam-bondi-for-attorney-general/
Opposing Kennedy: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-kennedy-for-health-and-human-services-secretary/
Opposing Gabbard: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-tulsi-gabbard-for-director-of-national-intelligence/
Opposing Hegseth: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-trumps-selection-of-pete-hegseth-for-secretary-of-defense/
Opposing Oz: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-oppose-trumps-selection-of-dr-oz-to-run-medicare-and-medicaid/
https://www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/cnn-and-msnbc-post-election-ratings/comments?publication_id=392745&utm_medium=email%2Cemail&comments=true&action=post-comment
Sent all of them, too. Thanks for the links.
Sent all of them! Thanks for the links!
I hate to say this, but I am shocked (I mean that I feel I was naive) at how transparent the convicted felon is in trying to literally destroy the United States. It is shocking, disturbing and enraging. The Republican Party is actively going to destroy the US if we let them. We must fight. Calling our representatives doesn’t seem like enough. I’m going to work with a group to elect another Democratic governor here in NJ. What else can I do?
Look at what he does, not what he says. He didn't fulfill most of his campaign/other promises 2016-2020 presidency.