ArcaMax

It’s hard to know who’s more to blame for the insane reaction to Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter: MAGA Republicans, the media or fellow Democrats. The response from all three has been overwrought, manufactured and pitifully sanctimonious.

Depending on which “absolutely horrified!” source you pick, Biden’s action was a “miscarriage of justice,” an “improper use of power” that would “erode Americans trust in government,” set an “unfortunate precedent” (in pardoning a close family member), and give Donald Trump a “license to abuse the pardon process.”

Oh, please! Spare me the phony piety. Biden did the right thing in pardoning Hunter Biden. And, hopefully, he’ll pardon many more before January 20.

First, forget the idea that Biden’s action in any way encourages Donald Trump to abuse the pardon process. He did so, big-time, in his first four years. And he’s already promised to do even more, next time, starting with wholesale pardons for the roughly 1,500 individuals charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Here’s just a handful of the 143 criminals pardoned by Donald Trump, first time around: Roger Stone, convicted of lying to Congress; Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI; Paul Manafort, convicted of financial fraud; Steve Bannon, charged with financial fraud and imprisoned for ignoring a congressional subpoena; George Papadopoulos, convicted of lying to the FBI; Sheriff Joe Arpaio, convicted of contempt of court for targeting immigrants; and Dinesh D’Souza, pleaded guilty to election fraud. Next to them, Hunter Biden looks like an altar boy.

Forget the idea that Biden’s set a new low by pardoning a family member. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to pardon a member of his family, but not the last. On his final day in office, Bill Clinton granted a pardon to his half-brother Roger. And Trump himself pardoned Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, who was convicted and served time for tax evasion and witness tampering. Kushner also hired a sex worker to lure his brother-in-law into a hotel room with a hidden camera and then sent a tape of their sexual encounter to his sister. Thanks to Donald Trump, that outstanding citizen will be our next a mbassador to France.

And forget about Biden’s breaking a campaign promise. Did he once promise not to pardon his son? Yes. But Biden’s breaking a campaign promise is hardly as serious as Trump’s breaking the promise of his oath of office to protect and defend the republic. Besides, a lot has changed since Biden made that promise, including Trump’s nominating a new head of the FBI who’s publicly stated that one of his goals is to go after Hunter Biden. No parent could expect Biden to throw his own son to the Donald Trump wolves.

But don’t forget about what Hunter Biden was charged with. Two crimes: evading taxes, but paying them later, together with a penalty; and lying on a gun purchase form. Both are illegal acts, but neither would normally rate the attention of the mighty Justice Department. They would have, and should have been settled, at the lower court level.

Hunter Biden’s no angel. He’s a ne’er-do-well, most of whose pain is self-inflicted. But his father’s right. His prosecution was purely political. Delaware’s Trump-appointed U.S. a ttorney only made a federal case out of Hunter to help Trump talk about the “Biden Crime Family.” He would never have been a top Justice Department target if his name were Hunter Smith.

However, if Hunter deserves a pardon because he’s been singled out for political persecution, he’s not the only one Trump’s called out by name. So have as many as 100 others: Democrats Kamala Harris, Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi and Jamie Raskin; Republicans Liz Cheney, Bill Barr and John Bolton; Special Counsel Jack Smith, and Dr. Anthony Fauci; and everybody at the New York Times, Washington Post, and MSNBC. Biden should give all of them a preemptive pardon, protecting them in advance from whatever phony crimes Trump might accuse them of.

And, again, forget all those who predictably accuse Biden of being the first to do so. Republican Gerald Ford gave a preemptive pardon to Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush did so for Caspar Weinberger and Donald Trump himself gave a preemptive pardon to Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Come to think of it, since I could probably not refrain from violence if I encountered any member of Trump Two walking down the street, I might ask for one of those preemptive pardons for myself!

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(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod.)

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