The President has pardoned his son unconditionally despite several statements that he never would. This is an example of inversion of the truth (lying) despite claims of being truthful.  A presidential pardon expunges a conviction for a federal crime and wipes the slate clean. It represents legal forgiveness, restores the criminal’s right to vote or run for office, and ends any additional punishment related to the crime. This power to pardon criminals is delineated under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. 

The President’s son was convicted by a jury of a firearm violation, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and was awaiting sentencing, which could be several years in jail.  Legal experts are amazed at this unusually broad example of executive clemency. The pardon document reads “ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN, A Full and Unconditional Pardon. For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted.” The President’s son is pardoned for any federal crime “he committed or may have committed.” The interesting words in the pardon document are “may have committed.” Normally, a presidential pardon deals with a specific crime. What other federal crimes has the President’s son committed that we do not know about? It does not matter what he did. He has been pardoned.

The date of Jan. 1, 2014, is a clue. In 2014, the President’s son joined the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisima Holdings. He was paid as much as $1.2 million per year (BBC.com/news) despite having no experience in energy. At that time, Victor Shokin, the Ukrainian prosecutor, began looking into the dealings of the President’s son for evidence of corruption. The President demanded that Mr. Shokin be removed from the investigation, and the Ukrainian parliament removed him in 2016. (BBC.com/news) This has spurred a probe by the Republicans into the dealings of the Biden family with foreign entities, which may violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). If the Biden family has received payments from foreign governments, they are required to register as an “agent of a foreign principal,” which they have not done.  

If the President’s son had not been pardoned on such a wide scope, additional legal proceedings could occur, such as for FARA violations, and become public. Certain family revelations in those documents may be embarrassing and indicate possibly illegal activities on the part of other family members. Pundits believe this pardon is more beneficial to the President and is a form of covering his backside. The President is not out of the woods yet. The President’s son may be called before Congress to testify on what he knows. Since he has immunity, he can’t plead the fifth. He would be under oath, so he can’t lie. Otherwise, he would be charged with perjury, which is not covered by the pardon.  If things go south for the President’s son during the hearing, all he can do is use the Watergate defense: “I can’t recall.”