Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday would not rule out pardoning her first son, Hunter Biden, if he is found guilty and she is elected to the White House.
Haley, 51, argued that it would not be “responsible” for her to make a determination yet on whether to grant President Biden’s son, 53, a full legal pardon for his alleged crimes “when we don’t all know.” the details.”
“I mean, I’m not even going to think about that,” the former South Carolina governor told NBC News when asked about the possibility of pardoning Hunter Biden.
“I don’t even know what he’s been convicted of yet,” he added. “I know what we’ve seen in the Justice Department system, if anything, is that they’re not treating everyone fairly.”
Haley said it would not be “responsible” for her to make a decision on whether or not to pardon Hunter Biden just yet. AFP via Getty Images
Haley argued that the way the Justice Department has handled cases involving the Biden family and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been “very different” from how former President Donald Trump has been treated.
The White House candidate has vowed to pardon Trump, 77, if she is elected president, telling Iowa voters during a town hall Thursday that it’s not “in the best interest of the country, and I don’t think our country will move forward.” with an 80-year-old president in jail.”
Hunter Biden was indicted last month on nine counts, including three felonies, in part for allegedly evading more than $1 million in taxes while leading a partying and “extravagant” life over a four-year period.
The president’s son has been charged with six crimes related to tax crimes and false statements in the purchase of a firearm. SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
He faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
The scandal-scarred first son was charged separately in September with three felonies related to false statements he made when purchasing a firearm.
He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison in the weapons case.
Hunter Biden could also be charged with contempt of Congress for disobeying subpoenas from the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee demanding he testify in the impeachment inquiry into alleged Biden family corruption.
“I’m not going to get into whether we pardon Hunter Biden or not,” Haley continued during her conversation with NBC News. “Let’s wait and see what the charges are. But at this point you have to go and look at each case individually. And I don’t think it’s responsible to just dismiss whether you would do something like that to someone’s child when we don’t know all the details of that issue.”
DeSantis said he would not forgive Hunter Biden. REUTERS
When asked the same question by NBC News, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis seemed taken aback.
“Why? ‘No!'” DeSantis exclaimed.
Florida’s governor argued that the Justice Department’s prosecution of Hunter Biden and Trump “are not the same.” DeSantis also suggested that pardoning Trump could help “move the country forward” and that he would consider it.
“There is a current administration that is prosecuting the former president. That is not the same as an indictment of Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was not one of the leaders of the opposition political party. So when you have that, it’s not healthy for this country to do that.”
“Yeah [Hunter Biden] If he hadn’t been involved with DC’s ruling class, he would have been prosecuted a long time ago. But those are not equivalent things in terms of, for example, a Ford and Nixon and then, versus some of the things we are seeing with Donald Trump,” he added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn