President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, without consulting the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, CNN reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the situation. Biden’s act of clemency was the first such instance without him seeking the office’s involvement, according to the outlet, which notes that Donald Trump avoided it regularly when handing out pardons. Biden has granted 26 pardons so far. The Office of the Pardon Attorney makes recommendations to presidents, and sources told CNN that it’s possible it determined that the younger Biden wasn’t qualified to receive a pardon because he hadn’t yet been sentenced. Biden’s sentencing for federal tax and gun convictions had been scheduled for later this month. The pardon grants clemency for those offenses in addition to any potential crimes he committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024. Hunter Biden’s lawyers told the judges handling each case that the pardon “requires dismissal of the indictment against him with prejudice and adjournment of all future proceedings in this matter.”
