Political analyst Mark Halperin on Monday blamed President Joe Biden for his son Hunter Biden’s legal troubles following the president’s pardon of his son on Sunday.
Halperin’s comments came after the president claimed in his statement announcing the pardon that Hunter Biden was unfairly targeted due to their relationship. Halperin, on “The Morning Meeting” accused the president of lying about his son’s business dealings and argued that Hunter Biden’s legal woes were a direct consequence of his father running for president.
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“Joe Biden chose to run, knowing that his son had done these things. Joe Biden lied in the debate about whether Hunter got money from China. Joe Biden lied about whether he went to meetings with Hunter’s business associates. Joe Biden lied about his family receiving money,” Halperin said. “He chose to run knowing his son had an addiction problem and that this would put the spotlight on his past activities that he knew about and lied about whether he knew about them.”
“So you want to talk about culpability and responsibility. You want to talk about loving your son. If my son were an addict and had done what Hunter did and Joe knew he did, I wouldn’t run for president,” he continued. “So if he wants to say who’s responsible for this, he can blame his own Justice Department, he can blame the independent counsel. He can blame the judges. He can blame Donald Trump, but he’s responsible for his surviving son’s plight right now by choosing to run for president.”
A Delaware jury convicted Hunter Biden in June on three felony charges for knowingly buying a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 while addicted to drugs and making false statements on the purchase form. He also faced nine charges pertaining to his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes and his alleged submission of falsified tax documents, all of which he pleaded guilty to.
“He said in the debate, ‘My son never got money from China,’ okay? He was already a candidate but he set this in motion,” Halperin added. “He made it impossible for it not to be investigated because his son did get money from China and he knew it.”
Chinese energy firm CEFC paid millions of dollars to Hunter and James Biden for their efforts to secure U.S. energy ventures that ultimately failed to materialize, a former business associate testified to lawmakers, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller.
MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance on Monday defended the president’s decision to pardon his son, claiming that criticism of the move stems solely from their relationship.
“Look, the reality here is if this was anyone other than Joe Biden’s son, no one would object to a pardon on these facts. The pardon process is meant to do mercy, it’s meant to do justice. It’s often used for people, most frequently used for people who are guilty of the crimes that they’ve committed, where there are extenuating factors at work,” Vance said. “And as I say, if this was not Joe Biden’s son, no one would object. But we are clearly here because this is Joe Biden’s son.”
“While judges may not have seen fit to dismiss the cases under high legal standards for selective and vindictive prosecution, there’s a clear feeling here these cases would not have been indicted if anyone other than Joe Biden’s son was involved in the conduct,” she continued. “And on that basis, you can understand how this pardon makes sense under the circumstances.”
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