Is a pardon for Hunter Biden a foregone conclusion? It looks like Hunter Biden thinks so. On the day jury selection was scheduled to begin in his federal tax evasion trial, Hunter surprisingly and suddenly pleaded guilty on all nine felony counts with which he had been charged.
A last-minute guilty plea, extended without any reciprocal offer of a sentencing reduction or government dismissal of any of the charges, is rare in federal criminal cases. Hunter’s initial offer of an Alford plea, which would have allowed him to plead guilty while maintaining his innocence, was rejected by the government, with the lead prosecutor telling the judge that Hunter “is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.”
He now faces up to 17 years of imprisonment in the tax trial as he awaits sentencing for up to 25 years in his Delaware firearms trial that concluded in June. Hunter will learn the severity of his sentences at hearings on November 13 and December 16 — unless, of course, he is saved by a presidential pardon from his dad.
The pardon power is one of the few authorities the U.S. Constitution consigns exclusively to the president. It states the president alone “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”
The Supreme Court held as early as 1866 that the scope of the pardon power is unlimited. Although the president may always seek advice on potential pardons from
