Bidengate Breaks... err... down

[Copernicus]

Hunter received not just any old pardon but a "full and unconditional" pardon; any offenses against the United States since Jan. 1 2014. I see the point in that it keeps the Trump administration from looking for any other barely significant tidbits to harass Hunter with, like from his foreign businesses dealings. Note: Hunter joined the board of Burisma in Apr 2014.
The last one to receive one with such broad scope was Nixon.

Past Trump pardons have been for "miscarriages of justice" which itself is unprecedented wording.

Personally, I think it would have been better to say that Biden was to be held responsible for any of his convictions and pardoned of all other actions. Double jeopardy protects Biden from reprosecution (I don't think SCOTUS would violate that). This provides cover for Pres. Biden regarding the "moral high ground" (fuck the moral high ground arguments of people that support Trump) and Hunter from being exploited by a vindictive Trump.

As I watch federal regulatory powers evaporate in SCOTUS and Trump lining up a doozy of a second Administration team, I really find it hard to give a fuck about one of the most molehill scandals in America's history.

I suspect that Joe Biden was worried about Trump's weaponization of the DoJ and FBI, which would then be used to trump up additional charges with which to persecute Hunter over the next 4 years. Trump is an extremely vindictive man, so it is a reasonable concern. Biden has said as much in public about why he changed his mind on issuing a pardon for his son. That's why he gave Hunter the broad Nixon-style pardon. All of this liberal handwringing over Biden going back on his word strikes me as a bit ridiculous, given what we will be dealing with over the nexrt 4 years. I guess that they feel they cannot retain the moral high ground unless we see Hunter Biden sacrificed, crushed, and ground up by Trump and his MAGA lynch mob. It's not as if Trump is going to change his behavior just because Joe Biden refrains from pardoning his son.

 

[bilby]

All of this liberal handwringing over Biden going back on his word

Well, it's not as though Trump would ever go back on his...

Oh, wait.

Shit.

 

[ZiprHead]

Rachel Maddow told about this bit political history:

The Shocking Death of Senator Lester Hunt

Joe McCarthy, Herman Welker, Lester Hunt and the Lavender Scare, the widespread persecution of gay and lesbian Americans during the McCarthy Era.

www.boisestate.edu

Basically Senator Lester Hunt's (D) son was picked up by Washington DC police during an "Indecency" sting. As was usual for such things, the son, having no priors or other extenuating circumstances, was let go with no charges.

Republican Senators Bridges, Welker, and Eugene McCarthy called the DC police chief before them and made him re-apply the charges against the son. They then went to Senator Hunt and told him we can make all this go away if you just resign from the senate.

Senator Hunt refused and the prosecution of his son was performed. That wasn't enough for Bridges, Welker, and McCarthy. They went back to Hunt and told him how he thinks the state of Wyoming, Hunt's resident state and the state he is senator of, would react if details of the son's prosecution ended up in every mailbox in Wyoming. That won't happen if you resign from the senate. At the time the Democrats had a one person lead over the Republicans.

People that knew Hunt said he was outgoing and likable. After Hunt was threatened, he became withdrawn and sullen. He ate his lunches in his office instead of with other senators as he usually did. Hunt ultimately took a gun and killed himself in his senate office.

Does this story sound a little familiar?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Rachel Maddow told about this bit political history:

The Shocking Death of Senator Lester Hunt

Joe McCarthy, Herman Welker, Lester Hunt and the Lavender Scare, the widespread persecution of gay and lesbian Americans during the McCarthy Era.

www.boisestate.edu

Basically Senator Lester Hunt's (D) son was picked up by Washington DC police during an "Indecency" sting. As was usual for such things, the son, having no priors or other extenuating circumstances, was let go with no charges.

Republican Senators Bridges, Welker, and Eugene McCarthy called the DC police chief before them and made him re-apply the charges against the son. They then went to Senator Hunt and told him we can make all this go away if you just resign from the senate.

Senator Hunt refused and the prosecution of his son was performed. That wasn't enough for Bridges, Welker, and McCarthy. They went back to Hunt and told him how he thinks the state of Wyoming, Hunt's resident state and the state he is senator of, would react if details of the son's prosecution ended up in every mailbox in Wyoming. That won't happen if you resign from the senate. At the time the Democrats had a one person lead over the Republicans.

People that knew Hunt said he was outgoing and likable. After Hunt was threatened, he became withdrawn and sullen. He ate his lunches in his office instead of with other senators as he usually did. Hunt ultimately took a gun and killed himself in his senate office.

Does this story sound a little familiar?

Yeah, it is generally the plot to Advise and Consent (novel and film), which of course was inspired by what you referenced.