The co-hosts of Fox News’s “The Five” on Tuesday spent a segment of the program examining the implications of and motivations behind President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, an action that has been widely panned on both sides of the political aisle.
In particular, co-host and former judge Jeanine Pirro said that it’s clear to hear the president has known all along about his son’s questionable business practices that congressional investigators have said border on the illegal and definitely involved Joe Biden and other members of his family.
The president’s pardon was not simply for the gun and tax charges for which Hunter was convicted and faced sentencing this month, but covered an 11-year span dating back to 2014.
At the time, Joe Biden was vice president and had been placed in charge of handling U.S.-Ukraine relations by President Barack Obama at a time when the country was in turmoil, while Hunter Biden began working for a Ukrainian energy firm making millions despite not having any experience in the industry.
“And some of those years encompasses the years that David Weiss, is the so-called special counsel, I think he is, allowed the statute of limitations to run in the highest earning years that Hunter Biden had, and the years it certainly involved his father and his ‘business’ dealings,” Pirro began.
“Look, they have done everything they can to try and cover up what they did. They have denied, they have lied. Joe Biden started out this presidency by saying, ‘I know nothing about my son’s businesses,’ and he’s ending his presidency by lying again and pardoning his son,” Pirro continued.
The pardon, which spans from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024, covers Hunter Biden’s June jury-trial convictions for lying on a federal form about his drug use when purchasing a handgun. It also includes his September conviction on nine counts related to his failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019.
“The bottom line here is that they’re afraid of something. They’re afraid of the Trump Justice Department being weaponized and going after Hunter for things David Weiss did not indict him for. And only Donald Trump can speak to that issue,” she said.
“They knew that jail time was coming for Hunter Biden. He’s convicted of two felonies. Not one, two. And if Joe Biden says there is no reasonable prosecutor who would look at these facts and reach the same conclusion, he was singled out because of ‘my son — well, if he was singled out because he was your son, then why didn’t you fire Merrick Garland?” she continued.
“If the Justice Department is so selective in their prosecutions, fire the guy that you hired, okay? Let’s talk about the fact that he’s always said no one is above the law. Hunter Biden is a classic example of someone — a classic example of someone above the law, because he was never even sentenced,” the former judge added. “Most of the pardons we hear about are pardons where someone has served their time, they paid their debt to society, and they are going to end up getting it removed. It is an impediment going forward.
“Not this case,” Pirro said. “We won’t even know what his sentence would have been. And then for him to call out the media and selective prosecution is absurd. A jury found him guilty. Are you saying you don’t believe in a jury system anymore, Mr. President? And by the way, is your son stupid? He pled guilty to six tax evasion counts. If that is selective prosecution, why didn’t he take it to trial and say ‘this is selective prosecution.’ It’s all about Joe Biden lying. He is starting and ending his presidency in the same way.
