President Joe Biden's pardon of son Hunter Biden for convictions on federal gun and tax evasion charges has been criticized across the political realm, following years of investigation and scrutiny.
In his pardon statement, President Biden said that his son had been singled out and that the cases were a "miscarriage of justice" and "infected" by "raw politics." He had made claims that he would not interfere in the Justice Department's decision-making process.
President-elect Donald Trump called the pardon "an abuse and miscarriage of justice." According to one claim on social media, Trump had previously gone much further, allegedly suggesting he wanted Hunter "executed."
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by host of the Pardon the Insurrection podcast Derek Knight, posted on December 3, 2024, viewed 109,400 times, said: "Trump said he wanted Hunter Biden executed. This is why your ratings look like the Home Shopping Network after the election."
Knight had quoted a post by MSNBC host Ari Melber that said: "President Biden's pardon breaks a vow and muddies the principle Biden argued was fundamental in contrast to Trump this election.
"There is evidence Hunter Biden's treatment was unfair, but that applies to many other cases that are not getting lenience because they don't have political or elite connections."
The Facts
While Trump did suggest that Hunter Biden should have faced a "death penalty," what he said and the context in which he said it deserves some explanation.
In June 2023, the Department of Justice charged Hunter Biden with failure to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon. His legal team reached a deal with federal prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who launched the Hunter Biden probe in 2018 after being appointed to the role by Trump in 2017, offered the agreement to Hunter.
Following this, Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 11, 2023, that: "Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of Bill Barr, who never had the courage to do what everyone knows should have been done. He gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence.
"Because of the two Democrat Senators in Delaware, they got to choose and/or approve him. Maybe the judge presiding will have the courage and intellect to break up this cesspool of crime. The collusion and corruption is beyond description. TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE!"
The characterization of Hunter Biden's plea deal as a "traffic ticket" hints that Trump was exaggerating for emphasis, rather than being literal. In context, "death sentence" likely reflects Trump's habit of using irresponsible and thoughtless language. Newsweek could not find other examples of Trump calling for Hunter Biden's execution or suggestions of it since.
His words, and such a casual reference to execution, nonetheless caught the attention of the media and led to headlines in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.
A spokesperson for Trump did not rebuke the post on X.
"The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system," Trump Communications Director Steven Cheung told Newsweek.
"That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people."
The Ruling
Needs Context.
In 2023, Trump criticized U.S. Attorney David Weiss over a plea agreement Weiss offered Hunter Biden, saying "he gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence." The context of his comments suggests they were unserious, if nonetheless thoughtless. He has not made similar comments since.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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