On January 6, 2021, President-elect Donald Trump referred to the possibility of pardoning those involved in the Capitol Building siege in response to President Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter.
Trump responded to the presidential pardon by posing the following question on social media, "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?"
He branded the circumstance in a rage, "Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"
A total of 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol assault, which resulted in over 1,200 individuals being charged with a variety of offenses, according to the Justice Department.
On that fateful day, Congress was preparing to confirm Joe Biden's presidency, and the demonstrators were reportedly targeting Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
In the past year, Trump has considered granting clemency to January 6 participants during his campaign. He has also played a recording of the national anthem sung by some defendants from their jail cells at his rallies.
In an additional conversation regarding potential pardons during a CNN town hall in May 2023, Trump stated: "I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control."
He added, "I would say it will be a large portion of them, and it would be early on [in his term]."
In his statement proclaiming his son's pardoning, Biden explained the process by which he ultimately reached the decision, which was a significant departure from his initial stance. He expressed his conviction that Hunter was unjustly targeted by political adversaries seeking to undermine the president.
"No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son - and that is wrong," he wrote.
Biden added, "There has been an effort to break Hunter - who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me - and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."
Trump has refrained from specifying which defendants he may pardon. Some were found guilty of using explosives or blunt force objects to assault police officers physically.
Trump did not directly criticize the president for the decision; however, his incoming communications director employed it to respond to the numerous "witch hunts" that he has referred to.
In another stunning move last week, special counsel Jack Smith requested that a federal judge hearing the January 6 election overturn case against Trump terminate the case now that Trump has been elected, citing his immunity under DOJ guidelines.
Biden issued a presidential pardon for his son on Sunday night, describing his prosecution as "unfair" and "selective," as per The Express Tribune.
A spokesperson for Trump issued a statement in which they criticized the justice system, which they referred to as "Democrat-controlled." Still, they did not appear to disagree with the decision.
Social media reacted vigorously to Trump's comments, resulting in a stark division of perspectives.
“Trump’s right. January 6 defendants have been treated like hostages while Hunter gets a free pass," an X user wrote. “Selective justice for Hunter, but Trump’s pardoning violent rioters? The hypocrisy is unreal," another netizen shared.
“Imagine comparing Hunter Biden to domestic terrorists. Trump will do anything to fire up his base," a third source penned. “Hunter’s pardon was overdue, but letting January 6 criminals off the hook would set a dangerous precedent," a fourth netizen suggested.
“Biden shows compassion, Trump stokes division. Nothing new here," a commentator stated. “This is why people don’t trust the justice system—politics over principles on both sides," another netizen added.
Business Times reached out to Joe Biden and Donald Trump for comments.
