The hypocrisy is astounding. Yes, any father would probably do the same for his son. Yes, the young man has improved, he is forgiven, he is on the road to recovery. Only mean people want to close it. Live and let others live. Still, there is something monumental about the pardon granted by the outgoing US president, Joe Biden. Six months ago, he scored political points by denying that he would pardon Hunter Biden's son. Now, after the election is over, he has done so.
The simple answer is: what's new? President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon; Bill Clinton pardoned half-brother and others whose families donated to Democrats; Donald Trump pardoned his son-in-law's father and numerous dubious associates. No one doubts that Trump, as president, will pardon a number of scandalous figures - perhaps even those involved in the riots on Capitol Hill in 2021. We are waiting to see if he will try to pardon himself in various ongoing proceedings (although he cannot extend these powers to cases brought at the state level).
Biden can make a certain case for justice, given that his political opponents frantically prosecuted Hunter Biden for relatively minor convictions - tax evasion and lying about drug use when buying a gun. However, there was a similar dose of politics in the equally frenzied prosecution of Trump's business malfeasance by the Democratic authorities in New York. The front page of the "New York Times" switched to tabloid style and screamed with pleasure: "He's guilty."
Cynics, or as they would call themselves, realists, will assure you that all this will soon be forgotten, as in the past. In the larger picture of American crime and punishment, some aspects of which still border on anarchy, these are small mistakes. More significant issues loom from the new Trump presidency.
However, justice is a universal freedom, which the US supposedly defends around the world. For a nation's executive to arrogate the right, even constitutionally, to overturn justice must be wrong. The American constitution is built on explicit rights and freedoms, protected by the separation of powers. The purported purpose of Article Two, Section Two was to strengthen the president's command of the military and state militias. It was not meant to justify crime. This right has been grossly abused. During the election, Democrats presented themselves as the guardians of morality, with Biden praising Kamala Harris as someone with the "moral compass of a saint." By breaking his promise, Biden has broken it.
The US Constitution is a miracle. It has held the union together, sometimes barely, for two and a half centuries, while global nations and empires have been in turmoil and falling apart. Its survival is rooted in two basic principles. The first is respecting the right of often very different states to regulate their own local laws, such as those on abortion and gun control. The second is a balanced division of federal powers between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. This divide, in today's deeply polarized American society, clearly requires strengthening.
But how? The last task of the constitution was to make its own reform almost impossible. Sometimes, only sometimes, such reforms are achieved. Presidential pardons appear to be an area in need of change.
The author is a "Guardian" columnist.
Translation: A. Š.
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