We are Democrats. Biden should not have pardoned Hunter. Now he has to forgive Trump
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As Democrats, we are deeply disappointed by President Joe Biden's decision to grant a full and unconditional pardon to his son Hunter, who was convicted of multiple tax and gun crimes.
To be clear, we're not denying the president's absolute right to pardon anyone — including his own son — and we're not against the president's opinion, but there are a few reasons we, and many other Democrats, feel this way.
Politically, as the country's top executive, what President Biden is doing is bringing down the Democratic Party, and the Democrats' opposition to what President-elect Donald Trump and his allies are planning to do with the federal government.
What do we mean by this?
FEDERAL JUDGE ACCUSES PRESIDENT BIDEN OF TRYING TO 'REWRITE HISTORY' ON HUNTER BIDEN PARDON.
At a basic level, Democrats have long maintained that Trump and Republicans undermined the law, both during Trump's first term and after.
Indeed, the threats that Donald Trump poses to democracy were a big part of Vice President Kamala Harris' failed presidential campaign.
And while voters apparently didn't consider this a do-or-leave-it issue, the debate is very appealing to those who support and want to strengthen our democratic institutions.
President Biden has now significantly weakened that argument, in no small part because it also violates the president's repeated promises to deliver. not forgive his son.
Moreover, by reinforcing the idea that there are two standards of justice, one for the president's son and one for everyone else, Biden has also given credibility to Trump's claims of a politicized justice system, further weakening the trust of the American people.
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Put another way, Biden's pardon of his son puts the lie to claims that Democrats are superior to Republicans in their commitment to the rule of law and loyalty to the American people.
To that end, this decision was unpopular even among President Biden's party. Gov. Colorado Democrat Jared Polis criticized it, saying, “This is a bad example that may be abused by future Presidents and will tarnish his (Biden's) reputation sadly.”
Similarly, Democratic Senator Michael Bennett argued that “it further destroys the faith of the American people that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” while Democratic Senator Gary Peters called the pardon an “abuse of power.”
That said, this is more than just an argument about the impact of Biden's actions or the difference between how these two parties approach our democratic institutions.
It greatly hinders the ability of the Democratic Party to attack the way the President-elect is approaching his second term.
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For example, it is now difficult for Democrats to oppose Trump's plans to appoint controversial appointees to his cabinet through recess appointments when the Democratic president has already undermined our democracy by granting a full and unconditional pardon to his son, who was legally convicted. a dozen cases.
President Biden previously said he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, but he did it anyway. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
It would have been much easier, and dare we say defensible, if Biden had commuted his son's sentence for Hunter's addiction bankruptcy and historical precedent. There was a basis for doing this.
We are not sure that this would have gained widespread support. But it probably wouldn't get the same reprieve and full pardon for the crimes Hunter committed over the course of a decade.
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This strikes us as a broad overreach and undermines the core of the Democratic argument.
What President Biden just told the American people is that he can do what he wants, when he wants, even if he has promised not to do it.
By using the president's unlimited pardon power in a bold way, Biden signaled that the Democrats' commitment to democratic values is conditional, rather than legal but workable.
Let's hope Hunter Biden's pardon goes down in history and President Biden doesn't continue to use the pardon power indiscriminately. However, if President Biden wants to issue one amnesty, one proposal Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., gave us, it would be to pardon Donald Trump.
Of course, this will be symbolic, as the charges against Trump continue to be dropped, but if Biden wants to heal rather than divide, it would be a good place to start.
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In addition, ending the cases involving the former president and the former president will put the country in a position to move forward and face important challenges such as the Russia-China-Iran axis, the Middle East, inflation at home, and more.
This would also demonstrate a level of equality and consistency that would suggest to the American people that our elected leaders are able to cooperate and work in the best interest of the country, two qualities that Americans deserve.
Robert Green is a principal at Pierrepont Consulting and Analytics LLC, who brings 30 years of experience in research-based messaging. During his career, Green has provided research guidance to several political campaigns.
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