'This was a significant misstep that could leave lasting damage,' The New York Times editorial board declared
Biden's pardon is a 'gross abuse of presidential power,' former Democrat operative says
Former Democrat operative Evan Barker analyzes why the party is split over the commander-in-chief's presidential pardon on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
The New York Times editorial board joined other prominent liberal publications that have come out against President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden.
In a new editorial published on Wednesday, titled, "The Dangerous Precedent of Biden’s Pardon," the Times board argued that Biden’s pardon represented another attack on the U.S. justice system following President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged litany of assaults against it.
"At the most base level, it reinforces the sense that Mr. Trump’s systematic abuse of the pardon system in his first term was not an aberration, that presidents of every party exploit their constitutional privilege to benefit their relatives and cronies, that justice is only for those with the right connections," the board wrote of the pardon on Wednesday.
FEDERAL JUDGE ACCUSES PRESIDENT BIDEN OF ATTEMPTING TO 'REWRITE HISTORY' IN HUNTER BIDEN PARDON
FILE - President Joe Biden, wearing a Team USA jacket and walking with his son Hunter Biden, heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Biden announced on Sunday evening that he pardoned his son from any crimes against the U.S. that he "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.
In his statement, Biden also accused the Department of Justice of targeting his son "unfairly." He wrote, "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."
The move caused consternation among his allies, with many worried that Biden’s claim of unfair targeting only helps Trump’s longtime argument of the DOJ being weaponized against him.
The Times first slammed Biden for going back on his pledge to avoid the pardon and grilled him for accusing the DOJ of wrongdoing.
"Then on Sunday, in direct violation of his own pledges not to do so, Mr. Biden pardoned his own son, Hunter. Though he claimed the decision was made out of fatherly love, his explanation also attacked the investigation of his son and, implicitly, his own Justice Department."
According to the outlet, the move flies in the face of "Biden’s attempt to project an admirable restraint" compared to Trump’s alleged abuses.
Summing up the damage done by Biden in this regard, the editorial board declared, "This was a significant misstep that could leave lasting damage. It will not only tarnish Mr. Biden’s own record as a defender of democratic norms, it will also be greedily embraced as justification for Donald Trump’s further abuses of pardon power and broader attacks on the integrity of the justice system."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Hunter Biden flashes a big smile as he leaves an Arby's in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. This is the first time that the son of President Joe Biden has been photographed since he was pardoned by his father. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
The Washington Post's editorial board made the same argument earlier this week, writing, "[Biden] risks deepening many Americans’ suspicion that the justice system is two-tiered, justifying Mr. Trump’s drive to reshape it — or, because turnabout is fair play, to use it to benefit his own side."
The Times board continued, warning the pardon might provide cover for Trump to pardon the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.
"It is easy to imagine the ‘they did it too’ defenses being offered should Mr. Trump pardon the perpetrators of the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as he has suggested he will. Hunter Biden’s crimes are not nearly equivalent to the destruction caused by the rioters, but his father’s action muddles the defenses against future abuses."
The board further argued that Hunter Biden was not justified in receiving a pardon, as he "did indeed break the law" and was found guilty of multiple felonies.
"It’s not sufficient justification for such a self-interested use of a presidential pardon, particularly one as sweeping as this one," it said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
