WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) — Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the tri-state area are supporting President Joe Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter Biden on federal tax evasion and weapons charges.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has been one of the president’s fiercest supporters, but there has been no convincing endorsement of President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter.
“I will not criticize the president for doing something he had the right to do,” Hochul said.
When the president arrived in Angola on Monday for a state visit, he ignored reporters’ questions.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was chosen simply because he is my son — and that is wrong,” President Biden said Sunday evening.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was convicted earlier this year of lying about his drug use when purchasing a gun. Prosecutors defended the two cases on Monday.
“In total, eleven different (federal) judges appointed by six different presidents, including his father, reviewed and dismissed the defendant’s claims, including his claims of selective and vindictive prosecution,” said prosecutor Leo Wise.
Both the president and his press secretary had insisted there would be no pardon, but that happened before Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race.
President-elect Donald Trump called it “an abuse and a miscarriage of justice.”
New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer defends the pardon.
“I’m always for accountability, but what I don’t support are political prosecutions,” he said.
Others say Trump’s prosecution and now pardon are making Americans even more cynical.
“I think it also speaks volumes that Americans have lost faith in our justice system, and that’s not a good thing,” said Rep. Mike Lawler.
Amid what appears to be a downward spiral of prosecutions and pardons, Republicans and Democrats are accusing each other of “weaponizing” the justice system.
Americans would rightly ask, “Where will it end?”
———-
* Get eyewitness news
* More Manhattan news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Do you have a breaking news tip or idea for a story we should cover? Submit it to Eyewitness News using the form below. The terms of use apply to attaching a video or photo.
Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All rights reserved.
