Many people are asking whether it is legal or ethical, others are asking about the timing of the pardon

United States President Joe Biden has issued a broad presidential pardon to his adult son, Hunter Biden, which covers various legal problems, crimes, and potential crimes. The Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP) has received a plethora of questions about the Biden pardon. Many people are asking whether it is legal or ethical, others are asking about the timing of the pardon.

First, the pardon is legal. The ability to pardon criminals and criminal suspects is one of the legitimate, legal, and important powers that US presidents have available to them. President Joe Biden’s action seems consistent with precedent and practice related to presidential pardons.

Second, the pardon doesn’t seem to violate any substantive ethical standards. Of course, ethical standards are somewhat subjective. Some people may find a father’s pardon of his adult son — or any family member — self-interested and therefore ethically dubious. But, on a human level, it’s understandable that a father would use the tools available to him to help his adult son with a long history of legal and personal problems. One hopes that Hunter Biden will take his father’s help as an opportunity to change his criminal, selfish and self-destructive behaviors.

An issue President Joe Biden is likely to face in the wake of his pardon — one that many people may consider an ethical matter — has to do with the appearance of hypocrisy and intellectual inconsistency. For years, White House staff has insisted that the President had no plans to pardon his troubled son. In fact, the President’s staff repeatedly made bold statements that the President would never issue this pardon to Hunter Biden. Why then did White House staff, whose salaries are paid by American taxpayers, make such false statements so stridently and intensely? It’s certainly a bad optic. And the intensity, some might say “arrogance,” of the repeated denials makes the White House staff look like liars.

Third, speculation is circulating that President Biden’s decision to issue this pardon with more than a month left in his term means he intends to resign from office before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. A simpler analysis is that President Biden issued the pardon before the holidays, so that his troubled adult son could enjoy the season with his family.

A final point worth mentioning: As several legal experts have already pointed out, President Biden’s pardon of his adult son removes the prospect of prison sentences or other punishment for a range of crimes Hunter Biden committed or may have committed. Even so, it also removes Hunter Biden’s ability to claim Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination when questioned about those crimes. So, investigators or prosecutors looking into allegations of illegal financial transactions in which Hunter Biden may have been involved will have more ability to press Hunter Biden for answers. This may be the most impactful effect of President Biden’s pardon of his troubled adult son.

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