Opinion Today: The Biden pardon

Opinion writers on the president's pardon of his son.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 4, 2024 By John Guida Senior staff editor, Opinion politics You have no doubt heard that President Biden issued a "full and unconditional pardon" of his son Hunter. You might have had the same reaction, or at least a similar one, to Gail Collins, who noted that very few people were probably thinking, on the Sunday after a holiday, "Gee, I hope Joe Biden follows up Thanksgiving with a pardon for his delinquent son." It may be the holiday season, but Times Opinion writers did not receive the pardon in a very festive mood. They weighed in saying things like this: President Biden "dishonored" his office (the legal writer Jeffrey Toobin, in a guest essay). The pardon was "disgraceful" (the columnist Bret Stephens) or "a profound failure" and "quite disreputable" (the columnists David French and Ross Douthat, respectively, in a conversation about the pardon). Collins offered "a couple of lines of defense" — but even she called it a "sort of second-rate" pardon. Douthat raised another "quasi-defense," that the pardon "confirms a general mood of cynicism" — but it is a mood that is "so deeply entrenched that it's not likely to be deepened that much further by one more act of self-dealing by an already-unpopular president." Read more: Ross Douthat and David French 'This Is the Land of Wolves Now': Two Columnists Get to the Heart of Biden's Pardon While the pardon is legal, the rule of law isn't maintained by merely keeping to the letter of the law. By Ross Douthat and David French A Second-Rate Crime Gets a Second-Rate Pardon At least Joe didn't make Hunter ambassador to a major international ally. By Gail Collins A Disgraceful Pardon Biden's act will fuel public cynicism and excuse Trump's plans to politicize justice. By Bret Stephens Guest Essay Biden's Pardon for His Son Dishonors the Office With the pardon of his son, President Biden added his name to the roll call of presidents who dishonored their office by misusing the pardon power. By Jeffrey Toobin Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Guest Essay I Should Never Have Picked Up That Gun I am surrounded by men who live with regret. And that regret is an incarceration every bit as real as the towering walls around us. By Christopher Blackwell More From Opinion Guest Essay 'What Does Illegal Mean at This Point?' We're About to Find Out. Trump's version of Project 2025 may not be what it seemed. It's worse. By Thomas B. Edsall Guest Essay What Will Trump Do for 'Vice Voters'? Moderation on pot and other vices appears to have been part of a calculated effort to turn out young men for the G.O.P. — but it may come with consequences. 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