Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who was found guilty of gun charges in Delaware and tax charges in California, reversing earlier promises not to use executive powers to benefit his son.
In a statement the US president accused political opponents in Congress of “instigating” the charges against Hunter to attack the president and “oppose” his election.
“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,” Biden said.
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden added.
The move comes just two months before Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.
This is a developing story
