President Joe Biden issued a comprehensive pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday. The move has stirred controversy, particularly from U.S. District Court Judge Mark Scarsi, appointed by President Donald J. Trump, who criticized the 82-year-old Democrat’s description of the legal proceedings as an attempt to “rewrite history.” Scarsi noted that the prosecution of Hunter Biden had been overseen by Biden’s own Attorney General and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Judge Scarsi challenged President Biden’s assertion that the charging decisions in Hunter Biden’s tax case were unfair. “In the President’s estimation this legion of federal civil servants, the undersigned included, are unreasonable people,” he said.
The judge continued: “The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States… but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.”
Scarsi agreed to terminate the tax case in California, contingent on receipt of the necessary documents from the Office of the Pardon Attorney. “The court directs the Clerk to comply with court procedures for effecting a grant of clemency once the pardon is formally received, which will result in the termination of the case,” he stated.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika terminated Hunter Biden’s federal gun case in Delaware. In her brief docket entry, she cited the absence of binding precedent for a case that had not yet reached sentencing.
Earlier, prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’s office suggested to Judge Noreika that the case be terminated rather than the indictment dismissed to preserve the record. They also filed a similar request with the judge handling Hunter Biden’s tax case in California.
Hunter Biden, convicted earlier this year on federal gun charges and having pleaded guilty to tax-related offenses, was due for sentencing later this month.
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