Bob Woodward predicted that President Joe Biden will pardon his son Hunter, despite the White House repeatedly saying this will not be the case.
But questions remain about what the future holds for the former drug-addicted first son, who will go to prison when he is convicted next month on gun and tax fraud charges.
The 54-year-old’s father also has only a few months left to decide whether to pardon him.
Woodward, citing reporting he did for his book “War,” said that “the Hunter Biden issue is ripping Joe Biden’s heart out, and it’s something he’s talking to close friends about.”
“He’s worried: where is this going? He has said he would not pardon him. There are going to be some trials. To be honest, I know enough about Biden, but I don’t believe that. I think he will pardon his son,” the Washington Post journalist told The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert.
In June, Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018. Then in September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine charges in a federal tax case.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he will not pardon son Hunter Biden, but many believe he will do so before his presidency ends
President Biden is said to be very concerned about his son and fears that Hunter will relapse into drug addiction under pressure.
He has repeatedly said he will not pardon his son or commute his sentence.
But Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the president general power to pardon any federal crime.
Jeffrey Crouch, a professor at American University and an expert on the pardon process, noted that a president “can use the clemency power whenever he wants, and as often as he wants.”
The only real consequence – if Biden chooses to pardon his son – would be that it becomes a stain on his legacy.
Voters could also punish the Democratic Party at the voting booth in the next election.
“The president may also face consequences during election season, when they, or at least their political party, could be punished by voters. And the president must always keep their legacy in mind,” Crouch said.
Moreover, Donald Trump has not ruled out pardoning Hunter if he wins a second term in the White House.
“I wouldn’t take it off the books,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Look, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they did to me, where they came after me so cruelly, despite what, and Hunter is a bad boy. There’s no doubt about it. He’s been a bad boy.’
Other presidents have issued controversial pardons — usually in the final days of their presidencies.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon for all crimes he “committed or may have committed” in the Watergate scandal. This was the first preventive pardon by a president.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton on his last day in office pardoned 140 people, including billionaire Marc Rich, who had been a fugitive for decades on fraud charges related to making illegal oil deals and failing to pay more than $48 million in taxes.
It resulted in a federal investigation into donations to the Clintons by Rich’s ex-wife. But the investigation did not produce enough evidence to charge Clinton.
Clinton also pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton, who was convicted of drug abuse.
In the final 12 hours of his presidency, Donald Trump pardoned and commuted the sentences of 144 people, including former advisers Stephen Bannon and Roger Stone. He also pardoned Charles Kushner – the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – and the rapper Lil Wayne.
Hunter Biden leaves a courthouse in Delaware with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and mother Jill Biden after the jury found him guilty on all three counts in his trial on criminal weapons charges
After the ruling, President Joe Biden flew to Wilmington so he could hug his son Hunter
Joe Biden has expressed regret and frustration over his son’s lawsuits.
He also said he regretted choosing Merrick Garland as his attorney general, Woodward wrote in his book “War,” writing that the president was angry about the prosecution of his son.
David Weiss, the special prosecutor who brought both cases against Hunter, says he prosecuted the president’s son to show that no one is “above the law.”
Hunter Biden is expected to be sentenced on December 13 in the Delaware gun case and on December 16 in the California tax case.
That’s a month after the 2024 elections.
Hunter expressed his fear of the “end of America” if Trump is re-elected president.
“A second Donald Trump presidency could mean the end of America as we know it,” the president’s son said. Politics in an interview this month.
He said his biggest concern was the “loss of our democracy to a fascist minority,” suggesting he feared the Electoral College’s verdict on who should be elected president.
Hunter Biden also accused Trump of “lies, fear mongering and disinformation.”
‘It is easier to scare people with lies than to educate them with the truth. It’s faster. It sticks to your bone marrow,” he said.
President Biden can pardon or commute his son’s sentence at any time before he leaves office on January 20, 2025.
Friends of the family wonder whether the president will keep his promise not to grant a pardon, given his concerns about Hunter’s mental state and the fact that since he is not running for a second term, there is essentially no politics danger exists for him.
Furthermore, Donald Trump promised to prosecute his political enemies if he wins the election and Hunter is a top target. A general pardon from President Biden would protect his son from any action by Trump.
In the June gun purchase case, jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user, and illegally possessing the gun for 11 days .
Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison, although being a first-time offender wouldn’t get close to the maximum, and there’s no guarantee the judge will send him to prison.
In the September tax case, Hunter faces up to 17 years in prison for his crimes, which include tax evasion, filing fraudulent tax returns and failing to pay taxes. The judge could also impose a hefty fine, perhaps as much as $1.3 million.
The judges in both cases were appointed by President Trump.
Hunter is a first-time offender. He has been sober for years and has paid his taxes and fines, although that money was provided by a wealthy friend.
President Biden IHe is known to be torn about the situation.
Hours after Hunter’s June conviction in the Delaware gun case, President Biden flew to Wilmington to spend the night with his family before leaving for the G7 summit in Italy.
And he also got a few minutes with his son on the tarmac, hugging him in full view of the cameras.