US President Joe Biden has issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases.
In a statement, the president said his son had been “singled out”, and called his cases “a miscarriage of justice.”
“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,” he added.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges earlier in September, and was found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June – becoming the first child of a sitting president to be a convicted of a crime.
The full and unconditional pardon comes after the president had previously said he would not give his son clemency.
Just a couple of months ago, in September, the White House press secretary said that Biden would not issue a pardon for his son.
But on Sunday evening, President Biden said although he believed in the justice system, “politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice”.
He added: “once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further.”
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision”, President Biden said.
In a reaction statement, Hunter Biden said mistakes he made during the darkest days of his drug addiction had been “exploited to publicly humiliate and shame” his family for political sport.
“I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” he added.