Yes, yes, of course, you Democrats can pose fussily and piously making distinctions between all the crimes Hunter may have done in the last 10 years and anything attributable to Trump's pardonees. Go ahead. Try. I see your efforts. They're so self-serving they underscore the essential problem: political favoritism.
Fine distinctions are confusing and hypocritical. You're going to say violating gun laws doesn't really matter? Then how are you going to pull off the call for more gun laws, which you know you're going to need for your usual political theater on the occasion of the next massacre? You're going to say a rich man's tax evasion is a measly offense and still hope to see us to respond to your cries for severe taxing of the rich?
No, no, your best move is to trash Biden. You already kicked him to the curb last July. No one remembers the show of honoring his statesmanship you staged at the Democratic National Convention. You've already lost the election and suffered a complete breakdown of confidence in your party. You need to rebuild the foundation. There's nothing to keep. Your party is a teardown.
Trump is about to take over and make a show out of throwing light on the deep state. Don't condemn yourself to defending every awful thing that may come out — which may include corrupt dealings with Ukraine and China that were blithely swept into Biden's pardon of Hunter. Trash Joe Biden now to position yourself to seem to welcome all this forthcoming bad news and to offer yourself as the staunch new party of reform.
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116 comments:
Hear hear!
"the next massacre" seems to imply a "bloodbath."
They dont care only want criminals to have guns
They dont care only want criminals to have guns
Basically this is what Nate Silver is saying. That Democrats should run any Democrat who defends this pardon out of the party as part of the reason they lost.
https://thefederalist.com/2024/12/02/without-a-reckoning-the-first-u-s-terror-attack-caused-by-open-borders-wont-be-the-last/
is there such a concept as "unpardonable pardon"?
to go with "irresistible force" "immovable mover" etc
Nice try. But sociopaths don't have any contrition in them.
No. They stand to lose too much to ever consider doing something constructively honest. It would be like watching some smart kid painstakingly build a house of cards and then intentionally demolish it before completing it as his class project.
"your best move is to trash Biden" But, but--a father's love! an unfairly prosecuted son! it's all so trivial! crimes, what crimes? and whataboutTrump?
Kinda admire old Joe sticking it to them like this. I'm not a hater!
They will not heed a word of it. Sadly.
That "ten percent for the Big Guy" was money well spent.
It's about how to get the women's vote, apparently.
Democrat Party = Dipshit Emporium
This will be the first chance the democrats get to show the American people that they heard them when they voted for Trump.
Great advice from Althouse but they wont take it. The Democrats rely on the MSM and their cowardly RINO allies in the Senate to provide cover for all their hypocrisy and double-think. So, they will say nothing about Biden, and pretend to be shocked and outraged over Trump's pardons.
Trump needs to pardon every single Goddamn J6ers. They are about to sentence a J6ers today. Almost 4 years after the event. The prosecutor asked for 3 years in Jail for being in the Capital Building and having a fork in his pocket (aka a deadly weapon).
You be ‘batin’, wild chicken.
Via Reddit: FACT CHECK POTUS or Check mating POTUS.
Biden just pardoned all the J Sixers.
https://x.com/YossiGestetner
Should be the theme used for dem's seeking re-election in 2026.
Check and balances are going to happen no matter what. The founding fathers are the real winners in all this.
Well, there's the words, and the reality. In the case of politics, particularly presidential politics, the reality is embodied literally in the man or woman who is the candidate. The 4 most recent candidates of the Democrat Party--Obama, Hillary, Biden and Kamala--show a complete disconnect between their words and the reality of what they stand for. Democratic power brokers, donors and politicians know that their core values--DEI, modern monetary theory, destroying oil and gas industry, gender over sex--are deeply unpopular, and thus can only be implemented by lying.
What exactly would the Democrats accomplish with this? It would obviously be an empty pose designed to convince idiots that politics is "fair." Without consequences, it's all just noise. In fact, quite a few have reason to keep quiet, as Biden wouldn't be above holding back pardons for certain Senators tied to Ukrainian corruption. He might even leak the details to President Trump out of spite.
Correction, they want addicts to own guns.
The more scrutiny going into January 6th cases, the better. MAGA really needs to point out that these people are owed massive payouts from the Biden regime's donors. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden can survive zero scrutiny, which is why President Trump should continue pressing the attack.
After he put them in jail.
Ben Wikler should read this and act accordingly.
I heard this AM on Fox that there is a 70-something grandma serving a two-year federal prison sentence for peacefully protesting at an abortion clinic. I don't know all the details, but 2 years is crazy.
Trump needs to pardon every single one of the J6 protestors. All of them.
Good thinking, Althouse. I expect you've got a good idea of the MAGAs because you allow free speech. But the Dems in general don't have that advantage and the wokie Dems have slipped the surly bonds of earth and are floating freely in outer space where no sound can be and no voice is heard but their own, blathering on. I think it's Joy Reids all the way down over there. It shows in their attempts to rally support against Trump's administration. As I read the criticisms of Trump and his appointments my response is: "Well, I wondered who person X whom Trump appointed really was. But, if I understand you correctly, this appointment is directly aimed at undoing all the progess made toward undoing the patriarchy, Christianity and America. It is also unbureaucratic, you say. And not how things have been done, recently. And unheard of. Say no more."
You forgot Kerry and Gore.
Dems can't trash him yet. Such treatment would give FJB even more motivation to take even more trashy actions before his time in office is (thankfully) over.
But the MSM and D/progressive commentariat should if they want to try to begin to claw back any semblance of credibility and basis for respect. So likely "Nah."
None of that will prevent FJB from pardoning his brother and maybe even himself.
“[S]taunch new party of reform” is MAGA. Dems would be late to the party, but welcome nonetheless, if they behave themselves.
Heh. Indeed.
That was a good, healthy, laughter of a read. Thank you, Althouse!
The fact that Hunter was even prosecuted at all was an obvious attempt by the Deeps to pretend that there isn't a total double standard. Trump was being prosecuted for ridiculous things and the Bidens' crimes couldn't be totally swept under the rug while that was happening because of independent media.
Of all the crimes revealed on his laptop, Hunter was charged and convicted of only those crimes that seemed least egregious and carried the greatest possibility that he wouldn't have to actually serve time. The worst of his crimes, the ones that involved his father, the rest of the Biden family, and that would have probably implicated the Obamas and other prominent Dems, were ignored by the Justice Dept and the MSM.
If the Dems had won, Hunter would have been pardoned by Joe on his way out anyway.
So now were going to pretend that the Dems have credibility here if they mouth criticisms of Joe Biden who doesn't matter to them anymore? We're going to continue to pretend there isn't an obvious, glaring, double standard? That there haven't been numerous blatant political prosecutions under Biden that Dems and their supporters heartily approve of?
Some will pretend. Not enough. The election is over, but the preference cascade will continue and pick up speed.
I would have more respect for this decision if Biden had just said "I love my son and I can't stand to see this happen to him, and since I have the power to pardon him I am going to do it." That is the truth. Spinning this as if Hunter is the victim of politicized prosecution by the Justice Department that he controls doesn't make any sense.
Biden pardoned Hunter for crimes in which he himself was complicit.
The NY Times is EXPLICITLY calling for a Civil War with their Ethicist column saying that Trump voters should be viewed as traitors.
The penalty for treason, by the way, is death.
It doesn't matter if you are for a Civil War or not. One will be waged upon you.
Hunter Biden's laptop contains videos of him raping a child. That's what they want.
It’s a good strategy except for the fact there are too many law breakers at the top. If you don’t see that get your head out of…the sand.
There need to be many politically dead Democrats from the top of the pyramid in order to pull it off. You/they don’t have the stones for it. Pluckingnone or two isn't going to cut it…
Whether or not the dems haul Biden’s withered political corpse out of the gutter and throw it back again, there will be Congressional investigations of Burisma, Ukraine, China, and the Bidens. And may all roads lead back to Obama.
They are already working on their defense of Biden pardoning his brother and other assorted family on January 19th, not on any sort of contrition or push-back.
Here's the way it works folks:
Step 1: Democrats weaponize the Justice Department against the Democrats' political enemies.
Step 2: Republicans win by promising they will return the Justice Department to its roots prosecuting criminals and not politicians (thus, the Justice Department is never deployed against Democrats).
Step 3: Democrats then pardon themselves for all their crimes, thus they are never held to account for weaponizing the Justice Department against their political enemies.
And you wonder why things never change.
Republicans need to learn how to WIELD the power we give them against the enemies of the United States who live in this country. Or we have lost it.
Their hoping to make their political prisoners look like a good faith hostage release so they go easy on the high level leftie criminals..
Yes.
When a person is pardoned for an uncharged crime, he can be charged with contempt if he refuses to answer questions about the crime when asked in front of a grand jury (or Congressional Committee) investigating, say, crimes he committed with his father. If he lies, the pardon will not protect him from a perjury charge. You cannot “take the fifth” when the truth will NOT incriminate you.
G-Pub
If there's one thing that Biden understands, it's loyalty. He's been trading on loyalty all of his career - i.e., loyalty and treachery, two sides of the same sales coin - and the party just showed its willingness to use the other side against him.
Well, f*ck them, amirite? Jill unmistakably wore Republican Red when she voted. Joe isn't done yet, and the party which his political hackery has called home for over 50 years has become no more than just office space to him. He could care less if they want to trash him. He'll pave his way out of the White House on a boulevard of pardons. His sack runneth over.
So Hunter was pardoned by his dad for sex trafficking underage women, as attested by his laptop.
Biden has broken the precedence that the incoming administration does not criminally investigate the previous administration. I would hope that the Trump DOJ pursues the ample evidence of Joe Biden's influence peddling. The democrats will, of course, condemn that as "unprecedented" and they will look like fools.
"Trashing" is all they know.
What is a "contempt" charge, really? They might throw him in jail, but if stays clammed up, they will let him out and all will be forgotten.
In the interest of fairness, Biden should pardon all tax evaders of all crimes, known and unknown, charged or uncharged, convicted or not, living or dead.
He should also pardon all citizens of illegal possession of a firearm in the same way.
In fact, Biden should issue a sweeping general pardon of all US citizens for any crimes past or present, known or unknown, etc. We should all get what Hunter got. And we should all get what Joe got, which was for the authorities to stick their heads in a hole in the ground and pretend they dint see nuffin.
It's only fair. Aren't our moral and intellectual betters always calling for fairness?
Agree, but i don’t think they’ll listen.
I really don't give a shit about Hunter anymore. Or Biden. But there are more than the Biden family that took money from China and Ukraine.
What really matters for Trump to pardon ALL the J6 political prisoners on day one. ALL OF THEM.
No need to trash Biden. The public has a short memory, and it's always possible for the media to make distinctions to condemn what Republicans do and ignore what Democrats have done.
"there will be Congressional investigations of Burisma, Ukraine, China, and the Bidens."
Haven't there already been Congressional investigations? To what effect? I want a DOJ investigation into the Joe and the rest of the family.
For the love of God, Joe, at least pardon Cornpop.
Funny how it goes clear back to the coup in Ukraine, when Biden started using Hunter as his bag man for the copious backsheesh and the plain old transactional influence pedaling.
“What really matters for Trump to pardon ALL the J6 political prisoners on day one. ALL OF THEM.”
Yes - this is the test.
All I’m saying is what’s good for the donkey 🫏 is good for the elephant 🐘
Don’t you just love it when an old cliche I thought was dead and gone coms back and gets another chance.
All we’re a saying is give the JSixers a chance.
Never Forget
I haven’t felt this good from news coming out of Washington since… oh yeah, Trump winning the election.
I haven’t felt this good from news coming out of Washington since… oh yeah, Trump winning the election.
Democratic Equivocation Implosion (DEI)
TRiUMPhant
The leftist media -the media- will howl forever about all the insurrectionists Trump let out.
No word on all the dangerous criminals Biden and his cabal of mobsters - let in our nation.
Biden just pardoned all the J Sixers.
He also just made lying on BATF Form 4473 nothing more than a mere peccadillo!
Biden may be senile but he’s not… senile.
why can't her congress critter issue her a pre-dated J6 invite to Capitol which can be submitted in mitigation of prison for parading?
I don't necessarily agree with pardoning every single J6er. I think Trump should blanket-pardon any J6 defendant who was not convicted of assault or destruction of property, and then commute the sentences of the rest. If the result is that virtually everyone gets pardoned, that's fine with me, but there's no good reason he shouldn't approach it in a considered, judicious way.
Biden Breaking Bad so good… I don’t have an ending.
No, he didn't, because they are political prisoners. He did pardon his scumbag career criminal son, for a specific period of time, which indicates to me that Biden knows exactly what his son and he were guilty of during those years.
I’ve seen this many times. IANAL, but this doesn’t make sense to me in relation to the spirit of the 5th Amendment.
I understand the implications in a plea deal in which immunity is given for testimony, but not in a case in which a pardon or other immunity given outside of such a deal. For it to work as described, it would seem like a vehicle for compelled speech, e.g. “you must tell us about your criminal dealings or face contempt charges”. I’m not sure I like the notion.
What am I missing?
The words “Do you know what this means?” are probably the most underrated words in history.
"Democrats need to figure out if they ought to trash Biden for pardoning Hunter and build the strongest foundation for attacking Trump over the pardoning spree he's about to launch."
Tough dilemma for the dems! It's a good thing they're unencumbered by any moral or ethical principles and are therefore free to decide what to do based solely on strategic political considerations.
Exactly.
Joe had no choice but to pardon Hunter. The Dems had no choice but to let him. Hunter could implicate his father and Obama and a lot of other prominent Dem leaders and supporters and probably some Republicans as well, not only in influence peddling, but in fomenting a regime change coup and ultimately deliberately provoking a war that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Hunter knows everything.
It is good that Biden has pardoned his son. Hunter is not exactly a model of virtue, but Biden is right that they were making an example of him over some minor infractions that most people would be punished with a fine.
It is also good that Trump is going to pardon people, especially the January 6th protestors. They acted rashly, but in most places when protests get riotous, the offenders are arrested and then quietly released with very little consequence (see BLM, or the pro-palestine protests). It is a politically-motivated miscarriage of justice that the January 6 rioters are being treated harshly.
It is good that Presidents can pardon people in order to depoliticize the justice system. This power should be used more often in order to discourage such political prosecutions.
Leftists enter their circular firing squad phase. Always happens.
"Americans are burdened with heavy taxes in a time when the cost of living is already crippling. But the president has pardoned his son of the $1.35 million he owed for tax evasion based on lucrative business deals he got from access to his father.
The corruption of the Biden administration and the first family are what you often see in despotic regimes."
-Andy Ngo.
spot on.
while the left do all they can to manipulate reality. That is reality.
President Trump could, and likely will, immediately pardon anyone serving actual jail time for the made up process crimes. Next he should start imprisoning the confidential informants like Ray Epps who actually instigated the riot. But then, I'm very much looking forward to Director Patel taking a scythe to the bureau.
What happens to the election if Brandon quits now? Obviously Kamala becomes Prez. But who will be VP? Probably nobody due to lack of time. So come January there will be no senate president (VP) to count the electoral votes as required under Article II Section 1.
So who counts and certifies the votes in that case? Senate president pro tem?
Or does it become a constitutional mess with nobody able to certify Donald Trump? If that happens, what happens on Jan 20? President Harris term will have expired but President Trump has not been elected.
Who is president?
Seems like Brandon could create a real mess by resigning this late in the day.
John Henry
Yes. He was raping kids and filming it. He's now off Scot-free for those crimes. I guess Ashley is going to have to find another way to get retribution.
Kamala would name a Vice President. Maybe Hunter Biden. Then he can pardon Joe Biden.
Democrats need to figure out..."
There's nothing to "figure out". As soon as the DOJ's corrupt, sweetheart plea bargain deal fell apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny by the judge on the case, everybody knew it was all theater from there on out, from the trial to the inevitable pardon. Figure out? It's all so fucking insulting.
The interesting question is whether Joe Biden pardons himself. Hunter, after all, is just the family bagman.
The Bidens' Influence Peddling Timeline
I hope he pardons himself. I hope he pardons his AG and the head of the FBI. Pardon all the stinkers.
Does the phrase Truth-and-Reconciliation have any meaning here?
@NorthOf....
Form 4473 is not the only BATF law/rule that's getting slammed after Biden's (Michael Bloomberg's) Keystone Kops new gun rules were roundly rejected by the courts. Many gun laws or strategies that may have made sense between 1934 and 1968 do not make sense at all in a post-equity world.
The $200 device tax was a lot of money back in the day, but now it's so cheap that the underlying class/wealth inequality of the concept is obvious. The pistol brace ban and short-barreled rifle or shotgun rules expressly discriminate against females, the disabled, and smaller-bodied people. The silencer/suppressor rule is getting slammed because of the hearing damage caused by gunshots (e.g., military veterans and police claim disability and require lifelong support costs). Serial numbers and machine gun rules were rendered obsolete and unenforceable by modern manufacturing technology.
There's nothing special for BATF to do except kill dogs and burn down religious compounds.
It would save precious political capital needed for reforms, instead of endless investigating. Which btw, never leads to anything conclusive.
Good advice. I expect no more than a handful of Dems to heed it.
@Dogma, this is my preferred approach too, but Trump and judicious don't go hand in hand.
This is not as potent of an argument the Professor has presented here as it may seem. True, Hunter Biden is a total schlemiel in every possible way; moral, financial, sexual, chemical, and he likes to play with (illegally bought) guns... But Hunter is Joe biden's family, his only remaining son, and so he'll throw that fact in your face all day long, and at the end of the day he doesn't have to face voters ever again and so he'll give you a raised middle finger to boot. The J6ers were "a threat to democracy!' etc etc etc though. Do you see what I did there? A lot of the public won't. Just saying.
Is it possible to give a blanket pardon for any crimes that may have been committed over a ten year period?
If so, then Hunter Biden has no use for the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. So, he must answer any Congressional inquiry questions, which would subject him to perjury if he lies or contempt if he refuses to answer. Good luck Joe.
Yes. He was raping kids and filming it. He's now off Scot-free for those crimes.
Yesterday I saw the full text of the pardon. When I search for it now, all results show commentary of the pardon without actually displaying the text. Even when I try to search for the specific document.
I wonder if the pardon covers all crimes are just crimes against the US (words I remember reading.) and if so, is he liable for the rape crimes despite the pardon.
If anyone has the details on the working pf the pardon, it would be nice to see, and then to get a read from those who are lawyers on whether it is truly a complete Get out of jail free card.
@Deep State Reformer, Joe sure did a crappy job raising his son, didn’t he? Some people have no parenting skills at all.
The worst crimes of all committed by Hunter Biden, as evidenced by photos and information of his laptop, were never mentioned by the media, even in passing. And, of course he was never charged with those crimes.
Hunter Biden sexually abused minor children. And, he has gotten away with it. That is the Democrat party in 2024. If you are a part of that party, then you endorse those actions. The Democrat party is the party of child sex trafficking and abuse.
You're going to say violating gun laws doesn't really matter? Then how are you going to pull off the call for more gun laws, which you know you're going to need for your usual political theater on the occasion of the next massacre? You're going to say a rich man's tax evasion is a measly offense and still hope to see us to respond to your cries for severe taxing of the rich?
Because shut up, you racist.
I think we can all agree our pardons are good and their pardons are bad.
Both sides are susceptible to circular firing squads, but, unlike the right, the left will fall in line when the time comes. Nate Silver will vote for the person with a D next their name no matter what he says or who they are.
it's times like this, that i REALLY miss Igna..
we could Always count on her, to regurgitate the official Democrat Party line
My favorite part is how suddenly selective prosecution is a bad thing.
There is lots of evidence of Hunter smoking crack and banging hookers but I have seen zero evidence that there is video of Hunter "raping a child." Stop lying. This is the equivalent of the Trump "pee tape." The facts are bad enough that you don't have to manufacture and repeat lies.
i'm guessing the Democrat Party line will be:
"what father wouldn't pardon his son?"
"don't you Realize, that his son died in Iraq while in combat? HOW CRUEL ARE YOU?"
"sure he took drugs.. what Biden didn't?"
"sure he took bribes.. what Biden didn't?"
"sure he did tax fraud.. what Biden didn't?"
"sure he f*cked Beau's wife.. what Biden didn't?"
"sure he showered with his 12 year old daughter.. what Biden didn't?"
"sure he f*cked underage hookers.. are you going to go after Jill NEXT?"
Don't forget: the *judge* didn't go along with the "plea agreement." DOJ wanted to sweep everything under the rug but the judge wouldn't let them.
Well DD those Chinese girls LOOK awfully young, very VERY young, so I think it bears investigating.
I am taken with the salutation on the pardon document:
"To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting:"
What does that mean? 'Presents' as in 'now'? Surely not 'presents' as in 'gifts'?
No one is above the law!
the left said. oh - yeah except the left.
And that Tim is what contributed to the Trump landslide, where the House and Senate votes came with, and both increased their margin of win over prior years. The general public is sick of the gaslighting, arms-locked marching bullshit storm the Left and the Media subject us to. Nevertrumpers hardest hit.
Who do we talk about when we talk about Joe Biden? Who actually does the things that are done in his name? That's who should be trashed.
@ Big Mike 10:28 AM
Yes, and yes. However the entire Biden family unit seems pretty unseemly collectively. IDK.
And everyone else prosecuted for violating "abortion protest" laws, or for "disturbing a school meeting" because they are tired of the local board protecting pedophiles and rapists.
BFD. So he would get to say "I don't recall..." a hundred times per trial/hearing.
If Hunter had sex with a minor (and it sure looks as if he did IMO), that's statutory rape. So yes, he did "rape a child" in one or more situations. When I was 17, I had lots of sex with a minor GF. When it was mentioned to her about "statutory rape", she replied, "you can't rape the willing." Doubt that would hold up in court.
Only in America could you enable a convicted felon to become President then claim hypocrisy over the sitting President using his powers to pardon a convicted felon.
If Althouse has an 'awkward' tag, this would be a fine place to use it.
It would be very wise for Dems to follow Prof Althouse's advice
Which is why they won't.
They can't.
Because there's no greater sin on the Left than "agreeing with a Republican"
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