Joe Biden issued an expansive pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday, sparking widespread comparisons to the controversial pardon granted to Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford in 1974.

Washington, DC. USA, 1990 Former President Richard Milhous Nixon. Along with Congressman David Dreier (R) CA. who was escorting him around capital hill that day.

The unprecedented clemency move insulates Hunter Biden from any federal charges related to potential crimes over the past decade, raising questions about its legal breadth and political implications.

The pardon covers all offenses Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed or taken part in” between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024.

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Experts noted the extraordinary scope of the language, likening it to the blanket pardon Ford granted Nixon, which similarly absolved him of “all offenses against the United States” during his presidency from 1969 to 1974.

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Margaret Love, who served as the U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, expressed surprise at the broad wording of the document. “I have never seen language like this in a pardon document that purports to pardon offenses that have not apparently even been charged, with the exception of the Nixon pardon,” Love said.

Samuel Morison, a clemency-focused lawyer and former Justice Department official, echoed the sentiment, calling the pardon “an extraordinarily broad grant.”

Both experts noted that even the controversial pardons issued by former President Donald Trump were more specific in scope.

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The starting date of the pardon, January 1, 2014, aligns with Hunter Biden’s controversial appointment to the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.

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This move occurred while Joe Biden was vice president and leading U.S. policy in Ukraine, fueling accusations from Republicans that Hunter Biden leveraged his father’s influence for personal gain.

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The pardon comes as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to scrutinize alleged corruption within the Biden family during his upcoming term.

Trump recently nominated Kash Patel, a staunch ally, as FBI director, signaling his intention to prioritize investigations into perceived political favoritism and institutional bias.

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Patel, who has previously criticized lenient legal deals offered to Hunter Biden, called his case “singularly damaging” to the justice system.

The timing of the pardon, just after Patel’s nomination, adds to the political weight of the decision.

The clemency decision prevents the Justice Department under Trump from reopening investigations into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings or other alleged crimes.

The sweeping language also precludes charges related to lobbying violations, which had been a focal point of Republican-led probes.

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Joe Biden defended the pardon, claiming his son had been unfairly targeted due to political motivations. “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” the president said in a statement accompanying the pardon.

Donald Trump criticized the pardon, describing it as an “abuse and miscarriage of justice.” On Sunday night, he questioned whether the same clemency would be extended to individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol protests, whom he referred to as “hostages.”

Trump has previously stated his intention to issue pardons to January 6 defendants, a move legal experts believe could be bolstered by the precedent set by Biden’s sweeping clemency for his son.

“It justifies what Trump wants to do,” Morison said. “Now, he was going to do it anyway. But it gives him some political cover.”

The pardon underscores the intensifying partisan battle over the justice system and presidential clemency powers.

While supporters argue it was necessary to address perceived injustices, critics view it as a misuse of presidential authority to protect Biden’s family.

As Trump prepares to take office, the stage is set for continued debate over how justice is applied — and for whom.

Below is what the media had to say when Biden was lying about not pardoning Hunter. Watch:

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