Let me preface with a bipartisan nod across the isle: Joe Biden’s pardon of his own son for multiple felony charges is legally and morally dubious.
Hunter Biden was hit with felony charges after lying on paperwork in order to obtain a gun. He’s also hit with nine different felony charges related to tax evasion, three of which come by way of California, which cited the younger Biden’s refusal to pay millions in taxes despite living an “extravagant lifestyle.” He then went on to make millions from foreign business dealings, and spent the money on luxury cars and clothes, writing them off as a “business expense.” Joe Biden offer of clemency to his son for criminal offenses that thousands of Americans are currently languishing in jail for—no pardon in sight—sets a bad political precedent. It’s a precedent that all Americans should feel justified to criticize.
Except for the ones who forgot Trump did it first.
Who is Charles Kushner? As this X user points out, he’s the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared. Jared has has his own share of legal battles, including that one time when his private equity firm was investigated on suspicion of buying foreign influence in his father-in-law’s election, but Jared has never gotten in quite the hot water as his dad has. Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, was convicted on 18 counts of tax evasion, doing Hunter better by over double. Kushner was also was prosecuted for hiring a sex worker to lure his own brother-in-law William Schulder into an encounter, which he then recorded and sent to HIS OWN SISTER WHO HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW WAS MARRIED TO. Why? Because he discovered that William had agreed to cooperate with federal police in a separate investigation surrounding the ex-Prime Minister of Qatar, and he wanted revenge.
Kushner’s actions were soap opera levels of devious. Chris Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey at the time, called Kushner’s offense “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.” And what did Trump do in response to this heinous crime? Wrote the guy a pardon. Trump also pardoned his own former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who was convicted on charges related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
Oh, and how could we forget his pardon of political greaseball Roger Stone, who was convicted in the Mueller investigation for witness tampering and lying to the feds. Who else did he pardon? Oh, just a couple war criminals – namely four Blackwater mercenaries serving prison sentences for a particularly heinous slaughter of Iraqi civilians known as the Ninsour Square Massacre. Who else? More Russia-probe casualties like George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan, plus a former Congressman convicted of money laundering. All in a day’s work for the Trump administration.
Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence cited Trump’s penchant for pardons one of the many ways he “abused the power of his office” in order to “reward his friends” and “undermine an investigation that uncovered massive wrongdoing.” For what reason? According to Schiff, it’s because Trump “values loyalty above else.” Schiff is right, considering that Trump intends to make Charles Kushner the U.S. Ambassador to France. What does a real estate developer know about maintaining foreign relations with France? The same thing that a billionaire Trump supporter financier knows about the U.S. Navy he’s about to chair: absolutely nothing. So if you’re gonna call the kettle black regarding Hunter Biden’s pardon, make sure you take a long look at the big orange pot first.
Published: Dec 3, 2024 12:10 pm