So much for the rule of law. After previously promising to allow the justice system to handle Hunter Biden’s federal felony gun and tax convictions, outgoing President Joe Biden instead issued a "full and unconditional pardon" to his son on Sunday. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden said, noting that he felt his son was singled out for political reasons.
The younger Biden’s serious problems with drugs, infidelity, and questionable overseas business deals were frequent targets for Republicans over the last four years, including as part of an aborted attempt to impeach the president. He’ll now avoid possibly decades behind bars, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for less time.
President-elect Donald Trump responded to the pardon by posting on social media, “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” (Nope). Trump is calling the kettle orange when it comes to familial clemency: He pardoned his son-in-law's father Charles Kushner after the 2020 election and just appointed him ambassador to France. But Biden is singing a similar to tune to Trump by pointing to the politicization of the justice system.
On GZERO World, Finnish President Alexander Stubb says that Ukraine and its NATO allies are aligned on a path to a ceasefire but warns that Vladimir Putin will drag out the war, not because he thinks he’ll win… but because he knows he’ll lose.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s energy minister said that the power grid suffered its most difficult day since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
On Friday, US officials warned the transitional council in charge of Haiti not to remove interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, ahead of a deadline for the council to step down on Feb. 7.
The president of the tiny eastern European country has suggested possibly merging with a neighbor.