Donald Trump was quick to react to news of Hunter Biden’s presidential pardon on Sunday night, blasting the decision as “an abuse and miscarriage of Justice.”
In a short post to his social media platform less than an hour after the official announcement, the president mused over pardons for those convicted in the violent insurrection on January 6 2021.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” he wrote.
Many commentators have speculated that Trump will pardon many of the people who were arrested for their role in the riot at the Capitol in 2021 as soon as he returns to office in January.
More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the incident, during which Trump whipped a group of his supporters into a frenzy nearly four years ago.
Trump launched his general election campaign in March by not merely trying to rewrite the history of that riot, but positioning the violent siege and failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election as a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House.
As part of that, he called the rioters “unbelievable patriots” and promised to help them “the first day we get into office.
As president, Trump can pardon anyone convicted in federal court, District of Columbia Superior Court or in a military court-martial. He can stop the continued prosecution of rioters by telling his attorney general to stand down.
“I am inclined to pardon many of them,” Trump said on his social media platform in March when announcing the promise. “I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”
Biden’s official pardon of his son was announced in a statement put out by the White House on Sunday, despite the president’s long-held conviction that he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial.
In a statement the president said that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Justice Department and that he hoped the American people would understand his decision as a father.
The pardon comes less than two weeks ahead of Hunter’s sentencing on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges back in June. He was also set to be sentenced in a separate criminal case on December 16, after pleading guilty in September to federal tax evasion charges.