Investigative journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his new book War that President Joe Biden regretted the choice of Merrick Garland for attorney general as his son Hunter Biden was being prosecuted on gun charges and financial crimes.
The president appointed Garland to be his attorney general as he took office. The move was viewed as a long-awaited promotion for Garland, given he had been passed up multiple times for Supreme Court spots.
“Should never have picked Garland,” Joe Biden told an associate, according to Woodward. “This is never going to f***ing go away,” he said.
Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is involved in two separate criminal cases. One is his financial crimes case in California, which involved nine charges alleging he forged tax returns and failed to pay taxes, that he has since pleaded guilty to. He initially wanted to enter an Alford plea, which means he would plead guilty but maintain his innocence, but the prosecution refused. He then entered an open plea, which means he agreed to admit he committed “every element of every crime.”
The other is a case in Delaware involving alleged deception about his drug use on a form he filled out when he bought a firearm. He has been convicted in that case of three felony charges that could have him facing decades in prison.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden has largely stayed silent on his son’s charges. After his son was convicted in the Delaware case, the president issued a statement saying he would accept the outcome and “continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”
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Sentencing in his Delaware case has been delayed until Dec. 13 to give Hunter Biden’s attorneys more time to prepare. He is scheduled to be sentenced for the California case on Dec. 16.
With Hunter Biden likely set to face prison time, the president has a choice to make: Will he use his presidential commutation powers to help his son? The president has the power to commute his sentence, and it will have minimal electoral consequences, given Hunter Biden’s sentencing is after the November elections.