Senior Democrats have hit out at the decision by US President Joe Biden to grant a pardon to his son Hunter Biden, with the fallout over the president’s clemency for a close family member spreading.
As they returned to Washington after the Thanksgiving break, several lawmakers from Biden’s own party attacked his decision to use his powers to shield Hunter from prosecution for any crimes committed over the past decade, after vowing for months that he would not do so.
“A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests,” Gary Peters, the Democratic senator from Michigan, wrote on X on Monday.