Joe Biden’s decision has split Democrats on Capitol Hill as Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, criticized Biden’s decision.
“While as a father I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Polis said on X, as reported by NBC News, which was the first to break the news of the presidential pardon.
“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
Arizona congressman Greg Stanton, also a Democrat said he thought Biden “got this one wrong.”
“This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution,” Stanton said, also on X. “Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
However, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, now an independent, wrote on X, “Joe Biden pardoning Hunter looks bad but most fathers would do the same thing under the circumstances.”
