Watergate Prosecutor ‘Thrilled’ Biden Pardoned Son Hunter
In the middle of a conservative backlash, MSNBC legal analyst Jill Wine-Banks declared that justice has been done.
Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks has said she is “relieved and thrilled” that President Joe Biden officially pardoned his son Hunter from federal gun and tax convictions.
The president accused his “political opponents in Congress” of pursuing the prosecution against his son—who became the first child of a sitting president to be criminally convicted after he was found guilty on firearms charges in June.
JILL WINE-BANKS, FORMER WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: I’m relieved and thrilled that he did it. This was one of the cases that called out for clemency. Hunter Biden, first of all, would not ever be prosecuted for the gun crime but for his last name. Second of all, he was addicted, and… pic.twitter.com/A4N1PqvoxG
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 2, 2024
Biden, 82, issued “a full and unconditional” pardon Sunday night, even though he said he would never “interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making.”
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However, he pulled the trigger on the decision and Wine-Banks —the first woman to serve as U.S. general counsel of the Army—said granting clemency was “appropriate.”
Speaking on MSNBC Sunday night, Wine-Banks said: “I’m relieved and thrilled that he did it. This was one of the cases that called out for clemency. Hunter Biden, first of all, would not ever be prosecuted for the gun crime but for his last name.”
Joe Biden with Hunter Biden and his son Beau.
Craig Hudson/Reuters
She said his sobriety is also a factor. Wine-Banks added: “Second of all, he was addicted, and that was a cause of his actions. He has now been sober for many years, and this is a time when it is really appropriate for a grant of clemency.”
Her words will likely do little to placate the dissenting voices, particularly from the conservative arena.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), both President-elect Donald Trump’s and former President Obama’s former White House physician, even called Hunter the president’s “CRACKHEAD SON” in a particularly angry post.
“Biden and his admin are DISGRACEFUL LIARS!!” Jackson raged.
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