hunter biden quietly joins the board of burisma. remember, 2014 was when vice president biden began leading ukraine policy. here's how hunter biden came to join burisma's board in april 2014. he brought on the board by devin archer. his business partner, devin archer was college roommates with chris hynes steps of secretary of state john. all three men. hunter biden devin archer and chris hynes had all started an investment firm together. public records show that april 16th, 2014. devin archer meets with vice president biden at the white. just two days later, on april 18th, 2014 is when hunter biden quietly joins burisma. according to public reporting, remember, this is just one month after the united kingdom's serious fraud office opened a money laundering case into burisma. hunter biden joins the board and only ten days after hunter biden joins the board. british authorities seize. $23 million in british bank accounts connected to the oligarch still chayefsky. the owner of burisma. did hunter biden leave the board then? no. the bri

hunter biden's decision to join a burisma raise the flags almt immediately. one article from a tooth that would 14 stated the appointme of joe biden's son to the board of ukrainian burisma will has hisraise eyebrows the world ove. even an outlet biased for biden'sctities created anter conflict of interest for joe biden. the artle stated that movement raises questions about a potential conflict of interest for joe biden. even chris hines, hunter biden's own business partner had grave concerns. he thought working with burisma was unacceptable to chris hines. he was worried about the corruption, the geopolitical risk and how bad it would look. so he wisely distance himself from hunter biden and devon archer's appointments to burisma. he did not simply call his stepfather secretary of state and say i have a problem with this he did not tell his friends hey guys, i'm not getting on the board have nothing to do with this. he went so far to send an e-mail to senior state department officials about this ssue. he wrote, apparenevon and hunter haveoined the board of bur

hunter biden quietly joins the board of burisma. remember, 2014 was when vice president biden began leading ukraine policy. here's how hunter biden came to join burisma's board in april 2014. he brought on the board by devin archer. his business partner, devin archer was college roommates with chris hynes steps of secretary of state john. all three men. hunter biden devin archer and chris hynes had all started an investment firm together. public records show that april 16th, 2014. devin archer meets with vice president biden at the white. just two days later, on april 18th, 2014 is when hunter biden quietly joins burisma. according to public reporting, remember, this is just one month after the united kingdom's serious fraud office opened a money laundering case into burisma. hunter biden joins the board and only ten days after hunter biden joins the board. british authorities seize. $23 million in british bank accounts connected to the oligarch still chayefsky. the owner of burisma. did hunter biden leave the board then? no. the bri

why was hunter biden on this board? >> if your last name wasn't biden would humanist to be on the board of burisma? >> i don't know. i don't know. probably not. >> let's talk about his time on the board. remember he joined burisma's board april 2014 while the united kingdom had an open money laundering case against burisma and its owner, the oligarch on august 20, 2014, four months later the ukrainian prosecutor general's office initiates a money laundering investigation into the same oligarch. this is one of 15 investigations into burisma according to a recent public statement made by the current prosecutor general. january 16, 2015, prosecutors, the owner of burisma, hunter biden sat on his board, on the country's wanted list for fraud while hunter biden's on board, a british court ordered his $23 million in assets be unfrozen. why was the money unfrozen? deputy assistant secretary kent testified to it. >> someone in a general prosecutor's office of ukraine shut the case, issued a letter to his lawyer and that money we

well joe biden just made clear his son hunter is above the law. s every time he opens his mouth, we've been screaming. joe biden repeatedly lied about this. the politicization of the justice system, donald trump and his people have been screaming. that's exactly what biden said here. >> joe, is this a politics of purity. we had donald trump pardon sheriff joe arpaio during his term and there was not a lot of a cry about that and this was a father who saw his first wife killed, his daughter killed in a car crash. his two young sons survive, one goes on to r have real difficulties with a ddiction an another died. i would have put good money on this happening. are many people going to be surprised that a father who is also the president would do this for his son? >> i don't know pa people would be surprised because you're right, joe biden repeatedly said he wouldn't do this so he repeatedly lied, but this just furthers the cynicism that people have about politics, and that cynicism strengthens trump because trump can just say i'm not a unique threat.

, hunter biden's safety. i think there was a real awareness amongst everyone that this pardon could -- the potential of this pardon could really cut either way. it would prevent hunter biden from having to potentially serve a very significant amount of jail time. however, i think there was also a consideration that would this potentially put a target on his back? the special counsel david weiss is a trump appointed special counsel. we have been reporting extensively on what, if any -- you know, what the plans are, will that special counsel continue in a trump administration, are there other charges, could there be other attempts to go after the biden family, including hunter biden? and so, i think this decision was not as simple as, you know, ending -- could this potentially cause a greater political firestorm? and i think, ultimately, the president made the decision as a father, [ inaudible ] >> so, thanks so much for that insight, sarah, and great reporting. we are going to go now to msnbc legal analyst dan

why it was selective prosecution, why it was targeted because his name is hunter biden. the bottom line here is that i doubt these charges would have ever been brought against a guy named hunter smith. it was because he's the son of the president. >> so the criticism coming at the president, president biden right now, particularly from some -- from some on the right. some saying that the president lied, because the president did say. president biden said many times, over the last year, particularly during the campaign, that he would not pardon his -- pardon his son. can you talk to me? should the president be fearful of? and should democrats be fearful of, do you think, of political blowback as a result of the president's decision here. >> yes. you know in politics. you can never lie if you're a democrat. now, the other guys. go ahead. you know, let's not pretend we're living in the pretrump political world. i know that joe biden is an institutionalist. but you're dealing with the current president-elect, someone who continues to lie about the 2020 election and still thin

our breaking news tonight that president joe biden has issued a pardon for his son hunter biden, on both of these cases, both the gun case in delaware and the tax cases in california. president biden releasing a lengthy statement essentially making the case that he didn't believe that this was a fair outcome because his son, he believed was targeted. he ended it by saying, i hope americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision. of course, there's going to be much more on this. thank you so much for joining me on a busy sunday night. i'm jessica dean. stay oh, is that it? >> there it is. right there. there it is. >> yeah, i see it, i see it. >> there it is. oh. it's cool. yeah that is cool oh, check that out, man it's going really fast cool. >> what the heck is that? >> i don't know. wow. >> look at the chunks coming off of it. yeah i see what you're saying. >> i think it looks like it's flipping all over the place. oh, yeah i still see it, but i'm losing it it was a saturday morning. >> it was a beautiful day and as i turned onto park street, i heard a

a bit about hunter biden hunter biden, his son hunter biden, hunter biden, hunter biden, hunter biden, hunter biden very serious charges against hunter biden, hunter biden hunter biden, hunter biden's dealings and that's just a small portion. >> there's a lot more where that came from. so look, it's clear that hunter biden is top of mind for trump's incoming team. who would be in charge of prosecutions? as for trump himself tonight he is responding to biden's pardon, writing does the pardon given by joe to hunter include the six hostages who have now been imprisoned for years? such an abuse and miscarriage of justice? of course, the reality of it is, is pardons are often abused by outgoing presidents. we see it all again and again. marc rich. remember trump himself, though, doled out dozens of pardons to his allies and supporters, including 26 in the final hours of his administration. like his daughter's father in law, charles kushner trump. in december 2020 pardoned kushner, who had pled guilty to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. chris christie, the u.s. attorney fo

um of course president biden is incredibly close to his son hunter. ng people that he lost his other son beau biden, um, in 2015 and that that hunter biden is his only living son, mj can you can you shed any light and just kind of give people some context around that relationship and just the way just how close knit this family is. >> yeah, this is a very close knit family and in the moments when president biden has had to make some of the biggest decisions, even in his political career, it is often the case that the last people in the room are members of his family. i mean, even just looking back on the president's decision over the summer, of course to drop out of the 2024 race and his seeking of a second term, we know from our reporting back then how much his son hunter was a part of that process. he really leaned on his son hunter, particularly as you point out in beau's absence. beau, of course, died a number of years ago. uh, this is somebody that has been in the room for these kinds of important moments, somebody that the president has really le

give me your initial reaction to president biden pardoning his son, hunter. >> i'm not surprised, i'm a little surprised it happened this soon, i thought it would be closer to when biden left the white house but the writing was on the wall when he received a 52 page report from the lawyer who said specifically why this prosecution was unique, why it was selective prosecution and targeted because his name is hunter biden. as a prosecutor, i doubt that these charges would ever have been brought against a guy named hunter smith, it was because he is the son of the president.>> so, the criticism coming at the president, president biden right now, particularly from some on the right, some saying that the president lied because the president did say many times over the last year, particularly during the campaign that he would not pardon his son. can you talk to me, should the president be fearful, should democrats be fearful of political blowback as a result of the decision here? >> yes, you know in politics, you can never lie if you are a democrat. the other guys, go ahead, let's not prete

he will not pardon hunter biden. but there was a feeling among not only close white house advisers, but among the family and a wider way that when it really came down to it and of course we're in this countdown period of biden's presidency until from now until january 20th, that he would eventually pardon hunter biden in making this pardon biden said that once he made the decision to pardon hunter biden, he figured why not just do it right away? there's no need to drag it out and get to it. but it is this reversal and it puts him now in a position where uh, it is obvious that donald trump will point to this for any decisions that he makes with donald trump's team has issued a statement on hunter biden's pardon, saying in part, the failed witch hunts against president trump have proven that the democrat controlled doj and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system. >> that system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all americans which is exactly what president trum

we begin with reaction to president biden's sweeping pardon of his son hunter. the president issuing a full and unconditional pardon late sunday a stunning reversal for a president who repeatedly insisted he would not intervene in his son's case. in a statement president biden said, quote, no reasonable person who looks at the facts of hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than hunter was signaled out only because he was my son. trying to break hunter they've tried to break me and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. enough is enough. it comes after hunter biden's legal team issued a 52-page defense of the president's son over the weekend. ahead of scheduled sentencing by judges in both delaware and california this month. joining us now nbc news washington managing editor carole lee, who is part of the team to first report on this pardon and matt viser, "washington post" white house reporter, chuck rosenburg, senior u.s. fbi official and former federal prosecutor. you were part of the team that broke the news, how did the president go from neve

at the same time you have hunter biden pardoned by his father. the ironany is rich.fbi if you think about the fbi's involvement in the morrow local lemar-a-lago and taken from joe biden's home in delaware. >> he is a senator which is worse. >> it is crazy! y i don't know, do you think donald trump will le go t this o when he takes the white house? where will he spent the next four years trying to prosecute joe biden and the way the biden administration tried to prosecute and did prosecute donald trump? >> if hu history is any indicatn when donald trump went and in 2017, he said i will not indicta hillary clinton on class five emailsd .to they had her on the clinton foundation we hadn't had a on tstraight audit in the last w years and james comey was the one the last one. the irony is rich, julie. the whole idea you are coming in loaded for bear of the presidene of the united states, former president here which of they president's soamn is skating is really amazing. >> judge jeanine, i love you for coming on on a sunday night.ng you are a to prepar

this is cnn president joe biden pardoned his son, hunter biden, saying that there were signs that his son was being selectively and unfairly prosecuted. >> biden taking a step that is going to be very controversial even with his own party to protect his son. >> this is a part of his legacy. now, there is no doubt about it. >> the rebel group seemed to be having surprising success. >> the real picture of what's going on is still emerging. >> don't travel unless you absolutely have to. >> people up here, when we get snow, everybody forgets how to drive. i like it when it's not like this. >> when i only have to shovel a couple inches at a time. that's what i like live from london. >> this is cnn newsroom with max foster and christina macfarlane hello, warm welcome to our viewers joining us from the u.s. >> and around the world. i'm max foster and i'm christina macfarlane. >> it's monday, december 2nd, 9 a.m. here in london, 4 a.m. in nantucket, massachusetts, where u.s. president joe biden spent the thanksgiving holiday with family before dropping a political bombshell on sunday, he anno

hunter biden was prosecuted for a crime that a normal person would not be prosecuted for and joe biden bent over backwards not to intervene in order to show you know, sort of how much of a respecter of norms he was unlike donald trump. but you know, we see kind of what that got him. and i certainly understand why you know, kind of he, why would not want to forfeit the future and life of his son to uphold a set of norms that are about to go up in smoke. >> what do you think of this, miriam? the president had said he would not seek a pardon for his son and here we are, using presidential powers. is this now a blank check to the incoming administration to use whatever powers at its disposal? >> as you know, the pardon power is absolute. one of those powers that is exclusively given to the president and i do think you know, people will be asking joe biden what changed because he did say pretty clearly he was not planning to pardon his son. i will note we are ending a thanksgiving day weekend and i'm sure the family was all together and i'm sure that caused him to think long and hard, but i

i'm talking about the president's action ohis son, pardoning his son, hunter biden. that's what i'm going topeak -- stick to and that's what i'm talking about. reporter: for families who have a child or don't have the same resources as president biden, is that fair to askhem to understand if they are not sitting in this position? karine: for the past five minutes, i've been talking about why there was a political fection on this particular case. it's because it was hunter biden. that's why we are where we e and why the president provided a pardon. he believes his son was siled out. because -- hunter biden was singled out because his dad was e president. that's what we are talking about here and that's what we have seen the past several years and thats what the president was speaking to and that's what he that's why he took thaction that he did. reporter: when the next round of pardons come, for those who have been waiting for a time, one -- how soon can we expect to see that? karine: i don't have a timeline for you. itsually happens toward the end. the president is go

as far as re- litigating hunter biden and the ties to president biden i am not sure they're going to spend that much time going down that road. >> you think this influences the senate hearings when it comes to kash patel? >> that's a good question. in recent days has been more supporters of kash patel who have come out too. our own trey gowdy has spoken highly of kash patel others have come out and said they think he can be a change agent. i would expect the thing to turn on some of that media stories we have seen of the people that are supporting him. did this affect of that? i don't know it does take some of the oxygen for a couple of days or this'll this will be t. >> i don't know if i want to take the high road on this. [laughter] this all speaks to the weaponization of government what gets to why kash patel was nominated in the first place for the fbi with the department of justice with accusations that merrick garland insert himself in the process to protect hunter biden. which we have seen consistently got the biden ministration in the weaponization, directed at donald trump w

you know, they were some people in certain circles that said if it biden didn't pardon hunter tn maybe when president trump was inaugurated maybe he would. that was being tossed around as a possibility. but obviously that is all to the wayside now as president biden has made this decision. he has made it early, well before he leaves office and generally 20th. >> i was trying to remember and i couldn't come to mind right away the last time a family member and i bet that something you might have on the top of your head. the last time a family member had to be pardoned by a president. >> i don't. i don't have that. don't feel bad it's not off the top of my head. we will have to look back and see it where exactly it. >> it had some pretty good family members but maybe not quite this level of family members. >> we have had on the hunter biden saga and all elements of it. not just the gun charge which he goes into president biden this release pretty specifically about all of that. he doesn't talk a lot about the taxes which are also covered in this 10 year going back how far this goes back a

so for hunter biden, the legal implications are pretty clear that he will not face time in federal prison as a result of either one of these cases. um for president biden, offering a pardon, i think the legal implications are zero. presidents have very broad pardon power under the constitution. the political implications might be somewhat different but, rosemary, you know, um as a student of history that we have had presidents on their way out the door who pardoned family members friends, donors so this is not unprecedented. >> and jessica in his statement, president biden cast doubts on the fairness of the u.s. justice system what is your response to that so i think it's important to look at the two cases separately there was the case where hunter biden was convicted by a jury, and that deals with lying on a federal form to buy a gun. >> and then separately, there is a tax evasion case where hunter biden was pleading guilty and i think when it comes to the gun case that really is not typically brought as a stand alone charge. and so i think we can say with a straight face that it's quite

in addition to hunter biden you have jim biden and joe biden. biden obstructed my and chairman jordan's investigations. he lied multiple times. he lied about his knowledge, his involvement. we had sworn testimony from devon archer who said joe biden knew all along what was going on and selling excess to our enemies around the world so yes, joe biden, in my opinion, has committed crimes. >> well it's clear the department of justice didn't allow us to take investigative steps to what would have led to president joe biden. it was clear that joe biden was involved and it was really selling the access and giving hunter biden the opportunity to get these lucrative contracts while providing really no service overseas. liz: we've got to stay on this story. it's history in the making. now house oversight chair james comer and then on joe biden's involvement in hunter biden's lucrative business dealings overseas selling government access and profiting off of joe biden's government job. joining us now julian epstein a veteran lawyer, former chief counsel f

hunter biden was facing sentencing this month for the tax and gun charges. president biden released a statement on his decision, saying in part, 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. enough is enough. well, earlier i spoke with larry sabato the director of the university of virginia center for politics, on the political implications of biden's decision. >> well for joe biden, he's 82, and i don't think he's going to be running for anything else. that's just my guess. so for him, the political implications are zero for the democratic party, though, it's not very helpful. now, i think we can all see the reasons why this father would pardon this son. having said that though, he's created a situation where he and also his wife said repeatedly that a pardon would not be issued for hunter, and yet that's precisely what's happened. no one's shocked, but it does contradict what he said it would have been politically unwise for him to indicat

was going to get a pardon hunter biden didn't work very hard to make the biden family and big guy about why did joe biden do this is a lot of reasons. the number one reason is and it was confirmed by the broad timing of 2014 to 2024 that this covers that joe biden and hunter biden were business partners. that there's a lot that hunter biden knows, too much of, for him to go serve hard time. and the question now is who is next? is jim biden who also was involved in the family business with lucrative chinese business dealings where he didn't er with the foreign registration act under investigation by the department of justice for a number of issues? is he going to be next, given he also helped in partnership with joe biden with this family business, which was very lucrative for the biden family. so they lied to the american people even the statement that biden put out line by line, paragraph by paragraph, telling the opposite story why hunter biden was prosecuted it wasn't for political reasons it was because irs whistleblowers came out and said he was getting special treatment and

they did it that way to protect hunter biden against a later department of justice being retributive aying that he violated his plea deal, that was done for hunter's benefit and when the deal fell apart, that is what they revealed they didn't have a meeting of the minds. >> all right, lisa rubin, michael smith, thank you very much, and coming up next, trump's latest terror threat, don't go anywhere. invest on my own, and trade on thinkorswim. you know carl is the only frontman you need... oh i gotta take this carl, it's schwab. ♪ schwaaaab! ♪ have a choice in how you invest with schwab. mmmm, kinda needs to be more...squiggly? in how you invest perfect! so now, do you have a driver's license? oh, what did you get us? with the click of a pen, you can get a new volkswagen at the sign then drive event. lease a 2024 taos for zero down, zero deposit, zero first month's payment and zero due at signing. limited inventory available. dad and i finally had that talk. no, not that talk. about what the future looks like. for me. i may have trouble getting around, but i want to live in my home whe

my question is, about hunter biden. a previous caller said that he didn't commit any egregious crimes. he has all of these images out there that they found on the computer of him and, you know, naked and, you know, drugs and guns and all that. i don't understand how he can be pardoned for that, when other people can't get pardoned for that. they, you know -- it just doesn't make sense to me. >> well, that's the -- that's what i said before. that's the big question. what does president biden do with the time he has left in office. there's plenty of time. lots of pending petitions. so there's hope that he grants pardons to a bunch of other deserving people. and like i said, that's really the only way to sort of take the sting out of this. >> you mentioned, just wonder what changes should be made to the whole process of pardoning? you mentioned taking the office out of doj and putting it in the executive office of president. what other changes do you think should be made? >> i think that would solve most of the problem. be

reversal from president biden who has now issued a full and unconditional pardon for his son, hunter. biden announced the controversial decision last night after previously repeatedly saying he would not use his presidential powers to do so. in a statement released last night, biden argued that hunter has been selectively and unfairly prosecuted. the president wrote in part this. 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. they tried to break me. and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. enough is enough. now, ahead of this pardon, hunter biden would have faced a sentencing on december 12, for his conviction on federal gun charges and a separate sentencing on december 16, for federal tax evasion charges, which he pled guilty to back in september. not surprisingly, republicans were quick to react to hunter biden's pardon by blasting the move by the president. donald trump posted on social media, invoking those arrested on january 6th during the capital insurrection. he wrote t

8:01 east coast i hopeure having a good morning president biden issued sweeping pardon for son hunter biden as he prepared to exist office brooke singman here with the very latest pretty much, a blanket exoneration. >> definitely is that is right president biden are pardoning hunter despite repeated denials would not do so -- >> is there any possibility the president would end up pardoning his son. >> no, i just said no -- i absenceed go ahead. >> will you accept the jury outlook their verdict no matter what it is -- yes have you ruled out pardon for your son. >> yes, you i'm not going to do anything i am going to abide by jury decision i will do that will not pardon him. >> mr. president had any intention of pardoning him. we had that question multiple times our answer stands which is no president biden saying from day i took office i said i would not interfere with justice department decision-making i kept my word even as i have watched my son being selectively unfairly prosecuted, the truth, i believe in justice system but as i have wrestled with this i also believe are you a politics ha

the clemency power would extend to hunter biden's pardon. nnberg says this is one of those cases that called out for clemency. he would not be prosecuted for the gun crime but for his lesson. hunter has been sober for many years and this is a time when it is really appropriate to grant clemency. two things could be true, the president does believe in the justice system. and the department of justice. he also believes his son was singled out politically. this is what we saw over and over again over the last couple of years. and when his deal -- deal which the president said in his statement that the department of justice agreed with, if they had gone through, he said that would have been fair. his political opponent has continued to revel in it. it did not seem like his political opponents would let go of it. it did not feel like they would move on. this is why this president took this action. >> is the president seeking the resignation of the attorney general? >> no. >> [indiscernible] >> i'm not going to get into the election. it is a no, i

biden. before he left for a trip to africa last night the president pardoned his son hunter, a full and unconditional pardon for any offenses the younger biden have may have committed or taken part in from january 1st 2014 through december 1st, 2024. the pardon comes days before hunter biden was scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction on federal gun charges and in a separate criminal case he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges. the president and the white house insisted for months the president would not pardon his son. >> have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes. i said i abide by the jury's decision and i will do that and not pardon him. >> i want to clarify, president biden has ruled out any type of commutation for his son hunter biden? >> he has. >> does the president have any intention of pardoning him? >> we've been asked that question multiple times. our answer stands which is no. >> the decision set off a political firestorm in washington and beyond. mike johnson reacted on x saying in part, quote, trust in our justice system has been almost ir rep pewbly damaged by the

president saying in a statement that justice, a verdict, by the way, that a jury rendered of hunter biden's guilt wasn't really justice at all for my entire career. joe biden says, i have followed a simple principle just tell the american people the truth. they'll be fair minded. here's the truth i believe the justice system. i believe in the justice system. but i have wrestled with this. i also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. now that joe biden sounds very different from this, joe biden let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is? >> yes. and have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes, i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything i said. i abide by the jury decision, and i will do that, and i will not pardon him joining us now in our fifth seed, cnn legal analyst elliot williams. >> he was a former deputy assistant attorney general in the obama administration. it is surprising to me to hear that that statement from joe biden got through the white house, where he talks repeatedly abo

he said he was going to go after hunter biden. i think this is a father protecting his son. >> so you're okay with the pardoning? >> i think it makes it really hard for us to be political if president-elect trump uses similar tactics going forward. i would hope, as my colleague said, that the american people want us to put this behind us and restore faith, so donald trump won the election and i hope he decides to move this country forward as opposed to going back and persecuting his perceived enemies. >> you said a moment ago, while you sympathize with his reason for doing this, he said it set a bad precedent. what precedent does it set to? >> i think it will become really hard for us. let's say president-elect trump decides to part in the january 6th folks. now what do we say? it becomes really hard because folks will say president biden did the same exact thing. i think it just becomes a really difficult precedent for us to defend. >> to be clear, just to circle back on your comments earlier, you don't believe hunter did anythin

that is what president biden did with his son. he said that hunter was pardoned not only for the two convictions that we know about, but for any offense that occurred from a date in 2014 two 2024. guest: why do you think he did that? guest: it's obvious, there are other potential crimes out there and he was afraid the trumpet justice department was going to continue investigating hunter for other violations and he wanted this to end and it was the only way to do it. some people have questioned -- is that a valid use of the power? he didn't specify the offenses. i don't agree. as long as they are readily identifiable, the supreme court will never constrain the president's exercise of the pardon power in that way. i think it's lawful. if it were to be challenged, it would be upheld. but it is extraordinarily broad. host: if you would like to join our conversation with samuel morison or have a question about the hunter biden pardon or presidential pardon in general, give us a call. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats can call us on (202) 748-8000. in

presidentjoe biden has pardoned his son hunter ahead of his sentencing for firearms and tax offences. the president said his son had been selectively and unfairly prosecuted and argued that raw politics had led to a miscarriage ofjustice. in a statement, president biden said he had committed not to interfere with thejustice department's decision—making, saying: president biden continues... and ends by saying. there's also been a statement in response from hunter biden, let me bring you some of that: he says: and adds. i'm joined now by sarah krissof, former us federal prosecutor. biden says that hunter wouldn't have been prosecuted if he was not his son? what do you make of that claim? there is a lot of truth in that, these were cases types of crimes that really are not usually charged. it is very unusual to charge someone for that gun offence essentially lying and buying as they call it in the atf and federal agencies lying on a form about your drug use status in order to buy a weapon. that is a very unusual case to charge and prosecute. similarly with the tax crimes and unusual case

he can't have it both ways in fact, the bias went one way, toward protecting hunter biden and joe bident because of two honorable public servants, dave cshapley and joe zie ziegler, who investigated hunter biden for a slew of crimes for five years in delaware. they have testified to congress when they came out as whistleblowers, they were obstructed every step of the way. it was favorable treatment to hunter biden and investigative trail that led to joe biden and his role in the family's corrupt dealings were blocked from pursuing. joe biden is as usual, saying the opposite of the fact. he is embodiment of what he accuses donald trump of doing. >> lawrence: do you think the brother is next? he has to pardon the brother, too, right? >> i'm sure there will be a lot of people joe biden pardons and anybody that could testify against his family, former business partners and even people like dr. anthony fauci, anybody he perceives republicans might want to bring to account for wrong 2k4r9doing during his administration. >> lawrence: so unfortunate. hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this. m

the white house is defending presidentjoe biden�*s decision to issue an offical pardon for his son hunterwho was set to face sentencing this month, for tax evasion and gun convictions. joe biden said although he believed in the justice system, "politics has infected this process and it led to "a miscarriage ofjustice". president—elect donald trump has called the pardon itself an "abuse and miscarriage ofjustice". our north america editor sarah smith reports. as the biden family gathered to celebrate thanksgiving this past weekend, hunter biden was there right alongside his dad. and it was here the president decided to give his son the gift of a full and unconditional pardon despite his previous promises not to do so. i'm extremely proud of my son, hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he has... he's one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything. i said, i abide by thejury decision and i will do that, and i will not pardon him. president biden wants americans to forgive that naked hypocrisy which could spare his son a prison sentence. th

i think he's going to do that regardless of whether hunter biden was par conditioned or not. criticism that oh, biden has those opposed, no door to this, no. i mean it's no different than, you know, certainly the other pardon we was seen like some of the ones i named and others. and the idea that donald trump takes his norms from what democratic presidents do, i think is a laughable concept. >> now amid the fallout from his son's par ton, president biden arrived in angola for his first and only trip to africa as president. during he three-day visit he's due to highlight a u.s. loan for new railway that stretches more than 1,300 clommers to 835 miles. it will connect mines in neighboring african countries to the angolan port city. the project is seen as a direct challenge to china's dominance of the region's infrastructure. in georgia, thousands are protesting in the capital for a fifth night in a row. they are clashing are rye yet police slowing -- throwing fireworks at officers who are armed with tear gas and water cannons. protesters are furious about what they see as the go

whistle blowers who claim their probe into hunter biden was ham strung at every turn. exactly the opposite of what biden now claim. he says that the d.o.j. was working to protect the president's son. tommy and tim ryan, standing by but first, to constitutional attorney and fookes news contributor johnathan turley who wrote this b opinion piece. cementing his legacy as liar in chief. johnathan, strong words. tell us what is behind them. >> well, to be honest we have had these on going to come plants about the corruption associated with the biden administration and the influence pedalling scandal that brought in millions to his family. president biden lied repeatedly when asked if he knew of these business dealings. he said he didn't have any knowledge of the business dealings. said he didn't have a chance to meet the clients or met with them in person. those have been proven to be false as well. but the pardon question came up repeatedly and he and the white house were adamant they would not give a pardon and as in 2020 when he lied about his knowledge about the busines

for cases that biden believes are, quote selective and unfair. >> i was there for every day of hunter biden's delaware case rows and rows of that courtroom were filled with biden family members, including the first lady. it was clear that they were there to support him. they felt that the case was unfair, and his lawyers thought there was a chance they could convince the jury of that as well. we spoke to at least one juror who did ultimately convict hunter. they said that they believe the case was, quote, a waste of taxpayer money. but the prosecutors proved it beyond a reasonable doubt but of course, hunter faced a second case in los angeles and just hours before that trial was supposed to start, he entered a sort of unusual plea deal where he pleaded guilty to all the charges he faced. he was looking at a possible sentence of up to 17 years in prison. hefty fines surpassing $1 million. you don't enter a plea deal like that unless you are confident you were going to get some form of clemency. so this is only surprising to people who have not been paying attention to the facts of this case. a

miranda, when i got this thing, you wrote a great column about the hunter biden pardon. 014-2014. apparently un--- 2014-2024. it's unprecedented and kind of tells me that this is an admission of guilt. admission of guilt by hunter and his father, joe. it's an admission of guilt that all the moneys and all these l.l.c.,s by biden family members, they're all happening and they don't want to mess with any of it. that's what i thought. you got other angles. what do you think? >> you're absolutely right. probably the most glaring aspect of this pardon that make it is very different from any other pardon we've seen and not a pardon for the crimes for which he's being convicted and pleading guilty. it's stretching back 11 years and why is 2014 so crucial? it is because that was the year in february of the may don revolution in ukraine after which joe biden became the emperor of ukraine as vice president and he installed his son hunter into this corrupt energy company burisma earning a million a year. he also was involved in firing the prosecutor that was investigating burisma. s

maria: breaking news thismornins morning's pardoning his son hunter biden. ng that was unfairly prosecuted and sweeping pardon applies to any crimes hunter had committed over the past decade may have an inkling crimes that he has yet to be charged with house oversight committee chairman james comer who led the investigation and the biden family's business deals a statement in the charges hunter face just to the tip of iceberg and the blatant corruption of president biden and the biden have lied about to the american people. in the last hour congressman, warren that davidson does nothing departed. with hunter and watch this. >> and part of it was the date didn't the discovery hunter biden on the standard been cross-examined and so did the part that you will be doesn't expand to other members like jim biden and joe biden himself. maria: deeply joe biden before lock set of us supporting a family member. >> yes a lot of people think will be provided he doesn't and i think that he well just based on that work that house oversight committee is already done but you

they bent over backwards, the fbi and doj, to let hunter biden get basically off scott-free from various things that he has done wrong and obviously a jury felt the same way. but i think biden has inadvertently opened the door to trump's argument that he has been prosecuted unfairly and that the doj indeed has been weaponized. that's his case. an awful lot of americans think it's true and we'll be talking about kash patel in a moment. but listen, that's the entire story about the doj and the fbi. maria: yeah. that's absolutely right. totally agree. but what really gets me on this pardon is that this exonerates hunter from everything. >> yeah. maria: everything. not just the federal gun charges, not just the drug charges, everything from 2014 to today, a 10 year period, even crimes he has yet to be charged with and we all know how we have reported so extensively on what the oversight committee has said hunter and joe have done. and that is money laundering and influence peddling. so that's gone. i mean, this pardon does not apply to joe biden but, cheryl, you know that this basically wipe

. ♪ ♪ president biden is expected to issue a pardon for his son hunter -- yes biden said on multiple rdon his son or he whispered it or commute his sentence and ahead of the december 12th sentencing for conviction on federal gun charges hunter set to be sentenced on tax evasion charges december 16th none of that is going to happen lisa what do you think of that? >> i think he's corrupt we all now that joe biden was doing this and about jordan neely bystanders said he was instainly threatening sickening had a seitannic bell and that he was ready to go to go to riker's they thought they were going to die. that's what he was doing that day on may 1st, 2023. biden is corrupt and -- back to joe biden. >> she never let something go. you want her on that jury. >> a dog on a bone. >> the least shocking news -- that we've reported yet. >> you knew it was going happen. >> of course he was going to pardon his son and i think he should because he got him into the crack business in the first place. and so -- i mean, if i had that power, and i had a wayward son i would pardon him. you know -- >> ju

. ♪ ♪ president biden is expected to issue a pardon for his son hunter -- yes biden said on multiple pardon his son or he whispered it or commute his sentence and ahead of the december 12th sentencing for conviction on federal gun charges hunter set to be sentenced on tax evasion charges december 16th none of that is going to happen lisa what do you think of that? >> i think he's corrupt we all now that joe biden was doing this and about jordan neely bystanders said he was instainly threatening sickening had a seitannic bell and that he was ready to go to go to riker's they thought they were going to die. that's what he was doing that day on may 1st, 2023. biden is corrupt and -- back to joe biden. >> she never let something go. you want her on that jury. >> a dog on a bone. >> the least shocking news -- that we've reported yet. >> you knew it was going happen. >> of course he was going to pardon his son and i think he should because he got him into the crack business in the first place. and so -- i mean, if i had that power, and i had a wayward son i would pardon him. you know -- >>

hunter biden was just one member of the biden -- one member of many.her family members and joe biden himself. i don't know if he's considering a self-pardon on the same grounds that he is worried about prosecution. but if this administration were truly worried about select i prosecution or an unfair justice department, they would think the about clemency for the pro-life protesters who are in prison for long terms or the uneven treatment that january 6th protesters received relative to, say, the blm rioters of 2020. but i don't think we'll see those the pardons under biden. stuart: only time will tell. mollie hemingway, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. stuart: yes, ma'am. the democrats are in disarray. congressman if jamie raskin is looking to unseat a top democrat from their committee leadership role. who does he want to unseat and why? lauren: jerry nadler -- stuart: nadlersome really? lauren: his friend. raskin is 61 years old, madler's 77 and has been -- nadler's 77 and has been top democrat on that committee for years. raskin thinks it's ti

to hunter biden.aid 11 article iii judges appointed by six different presidents don't buy the argument that bind is making saying, oh, this was an attack and vindictiveness against hunter biden. these whistleblowers were not political. they discoclosed, they were the beginning of disclosing this horrible misjustice, miscarriage of justice, unequal justice under law that we're seeing in all these agencies. that's why i love all the picks we're seeing, kash patel, pam bondi, john ratcliffe. this is an amazing team. the people in our country want accountability. it isn't just republicans, everybody wants accountability. larry: yes. >> some of those people are criticizing kash patel, i don't know, i think he's going to be fabulous. he's brilliant and he's strong, and he's going to do the job. larry: so far what a i've seen from both the left and the right on kash, byron, i'll give you the haas word, and by the way, thanks, claudia, for reminding us that it was kash patel who assisted devin nuÑes and buste