Brace Yourself for More Biden Pardons

Iexplained in a post Monday that the timing of President Biden’s pardon of his son was driven by the schedule in Hunter’s two criminal cases — just as Hunter’s litigation strategy in those cases, particularly the tax prosecution, was guided by the certainty that he would be pardoned. (This was a big part of why some of us confidently predicted a pardon would be granted, regardless of how indignant the president and the White House were in vowing that it wouldn’t.)

That’s not how scandalous pardons are usually timed. They tend to be issued when a president who will not seek office again and has no incentive to worry about political backlash is on his way out the door. (See, e.g., Clinton, Bill.)

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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Iexplained in a post Monday that the timing of President Biden’s pardon of his son was driven by the schedule in Hunter’s two criminal cases — just as Hunter’s litigation strategy in those cases, particularly the tax prosecution, was guided by the certainty that he would be pardoned. (This was a big part of why some of us confidently predicted a pardon would be granted, regardless of how indignant the president and the White House were in vowing that it wouldn’t.)

That’s not how scandalous pardons are usually timed. They tend to be issued when a president who will not seek office again and has no incentive to worry about political backlash is on his way out the door. (See, e.g., Clinton, Bill.)

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.