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🖋️ A Family Affair

A polarizing pardon—how will this reshape Biden’s presidency?

December 03, 2024

The Flag


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Right: Left Pays Political Price for War on Families, Don Feder, Washington Times

Right: Kash Patel Is the Fumigator the FBI Needs, David Marcus, Fox News

Right: The MAGA Majority, Paul Ingrassia, AMAC

BIDEN

A Family Affair

Today’s Top Story: On Sunday, President Joe Biden signed a pardon for his son Hunter, granting broad protection for any crimes committed since 2014 after asserting he would not issue such a pardon.

Reporting from the Right: Karine Jean-Pierre faces press grilling after Biden pardons son Hunter (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: President Biden pardons son Hunter Biden (CBS News)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

More Lies

The Top Argument From The Right: We always knew Joe Biden would pardon troubled son Hunter — fitting the president would break another promise to the American people, Miranda Devine, New York Post: “The pardon Joe vowed he would never give comes just days before Hunter was due to be sentenced over a felony gun conviction in Delaware in June and California felony tax fraud charges in September to which he pleaded guilty on the first day of trial. Joe claims that Hunter was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently … singled out only because he is my son.’ … No wonder Hunter looked so smug over the weekend when he was photographed out and about in Nantucket with his dad and the rest of the Biden clan. For a guy facing two prison sentences, he was chewing gum and acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. … The Bidens are correct when they say that the legal system was ‘corrupted by political leaders in this country,’ or as Joe puts it, ‘that raw politics has infected this process’ — but not in the way they pretend. Hunter got an unfair advantage because of his father’s power. He broke laws with impunity and knew that nobody would ever stop him from doing exactly what he wanted.”

Honorable Mention #1: Joe Biden Tries To Justify Hunter Pardon By Peddling Another Round Of Lies, Margot Cleveland, The Federalist

Honorable Mention #2: Hunter pardon cements Joe Biden’s record of shame and failure, Washington Examiner

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Hypocrisy

The Top Argument From The Left: With his pardon of son Hunter, Joe Biden delivers a heartfelt hypocrisy, David Smith, The Guardian: “A loving act of mercy by a father who has already known much sorrow? Or a hypocritical political manoeuvre reminiscent of his great foe? Maybe both can be true. … Biden reportedly spent months agonising over what to do. The scales were almost certainly tilted by Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s presidential election. The prospect of leaving Hunter to the tender mercies of Trump’s sure-to-be politicised, retribution-driven justice department was too much to bear. Biden typically takes advice from close family and is likely to have reached the decision after talking it over during what was an intimate Thanksgiving weekend. …for many Americans there will be something jarring about the double standard of a president pardoning a member of his own family ahead of numerous other worthy cases. Republicans in the House of Representatives naturally pounced with more hyperbole about the ‘Biden crime family’. .. The Trump context is impossible to ignore in this moral maze. Next month he will become the first convicted criminal sworn in as president, though three cases against him have all but perished. He is already moving to appoint loyalists to the FBI and justice department.”

FLAG THIS

Public sees Hunter Biden's Indictment as Fair

According to Ipsos polling this summer, most Americans believe Hunter Biden’s indictment was fair and unrelated to his father’s presidency, with little impact on 2024 voter preferences. Key points:

  • Charges: 46% say the indictment wasn’t politically motivated; 62% of Republicans and 49% of independents believe he’d have been charged regardless.

  • Trial and sentencing: 58% say the trial was fair, and a majority (58%) think Hunter should serve prison time, including 77% of Republicans and 60% of independents.

Do you believe the charges against Hunter Biden were politically motivated, at least in part?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

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WATERCOOLER

First SMS, Egg Shopping, Niagra Stands Still

On This Day in 1992, the first SMS text message in history is sent: Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old engineer, uses a personal computer to send the text message “Merry Christmas” via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague.

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