President Joe Biden faced mounting criticism Monday for his decision to issue a sweeping pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, with detractors not only citing the breadth of the pardon itself but also the degree to which it breaks with the president’s history of extolling the virtues of the judiciary as a bulwark against executive abuses of power.
In fact, Biden took aim at these very abuses during a speech in July, in which he warned of a “dangerous precedent” created by the Supreme Court’s decision that expanded the view of presidential immunity.
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” Biden said in July. “No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”
Biden’s remarks were a response to the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling that expanded the view of presidential immunity, and which he criticized as fundamentally changing the separation of powers.
“With today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed,” Biden said in July.
“For all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do,” he added.
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President Joe Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address in Washington, DC, in 2024. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
In their decision, justices writing for the 4-3 Supreme Court majority said that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from any actions taken within the scope of “core constitutional powers” of the office.
A presumption of immunity also applies to other actions taken while holding office, they said.
Biden strenuously objected to that ruling, citing deep concerns over the risks of unchecked power in the executive branch — and the erosion of what he described as necessary parameters for a sitting president.
The presidency, Biden said then, “is the most powerful office in the world. It’s an office that not only tests your judgment. But perhaps even more importantly, it’s an office that can test your character.”
“You not only face moments where you need the courage to exercise the full power of the presidency,” Biden said in his speech. “You also face moments where you need the wisdom to respect the limits of the power of the office of the presidency.”
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President Biden and Hunter Biden arrive in Syracuse, New York (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Six months later, Biden is facing sharp criticism from some lawmakers and legal analysts for his decision to pardon Hunter, an about-face from his earlier promises, and a sweeping protection that covers any federal crimes Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.
In announcing the pardon, Biden criticized the unfair investigation and prosecution of his son, a process he said was “infected” by politics and led to a “miscarriage of justice.”
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” the president said in a statement Sunday.
President Biden blasted a ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year which he said essentially made it so there were ‘virtually no limits’ to presidential power. (Getty Images)
But some critics also cited fears that Biden’s pardon could further erode the public’s view of the Justice Department — giving credence to Trump’s frequent complaints that the Department of Justice is a political apparatus capable of being “weaponized,” rather than a department that strives to act independently and largely without political influence.
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Biden is “essentially endorsing Trump’s long-held opinion that the Department of Justice is politicized and isn’t acting impartially,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital of the pardon.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
