Joe Biden and the Most Controversial Presidential Pardons in US History

President Joe Biden’s term will end on January 20, 2025. With less than 2 months to go in office, he used his presidential pardon power this week on his troubled son Hunter Biden, sparking a mass display of outrage from both parties.

On Sunday, Biden returned from another family Thanksgiving with the announcement that he was granting his 54-year-old son Hunter Biden a full and unconditional pardon. Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges and also pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

The main issue at hand here is that Biden said for months that he would not pardon his son. It is really that cut and dry. He went against his word, so he looks like a liar and hypocrite on his way out of office. You know, two prerequisites for being a politician in the 21st century.

On the surface, the criticism for Biden is absolutely valid. He lied. He never should have publicly said he wouldn’t do it in the first place, but he did. On the other hand, most legal experts agree that the only reason these charges ever were pushed against Hunter is because his last name is Biden. Buying a gun while using drugs is something that likely happens on a daily, if not hourly basis in the United States. The idea that someone would ever face serious prison time for that is ridiculous.

There’s also the sentiment that most fathers would pardon their son in such a non-violent case, and the next administration is clearly set on retribution when President-elect Donald Trump regains the White House in January. Biden just did what most fathers would in this situation, so it’s hard to say this will really be a defining part of his legacy as a president. The defining part should be that he tried to run for a 2nd term when he’d be 86 years old at the end of it, and that doomed his party in the 2024 election.

But no matter how you feel about the Hunter Biden pardon, it is one of the more controversial presidential pardons in US history. However, it may not even be the most controversial this decade if Trump does indeed pardon the January 6th rioters.

Before betting on it at top-rated sportsbooks, let’s look back at some of the most controversial presidential powers in US history.

1974: Gerald Ford Pardons Richard Nixon

Had Richard Nixon not resigned during the Watergate scandal in 1974, we likely would have seen a president impeached and removed from power. Nixon is the first U.S. president to resign. But his replacement, President Gerald Ford, decided to grant Nixon a full pardon for any crimes related to Watergate, the name given to the scandal relating to a cover-up of a 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

This was extremely controversial at the time, but Ford’s justification was that it was important to help the nation heal at a chaotic time. Many believe this led to Ford losing the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter.

But this pardon was also why some felt it was possible that Joe Biden would pardon Donald Trump for any of his criminal charges (January 6th, Stormy Daniels hush money, or otherwise) to try to bring some unity between the parties. Well, that’s clearly not going to happen now, so Ford’s pardon of Nixon is still a 1-of-1 case in US history.

2001: Bill Clinton Pardons Marc Rich (Among Others)

President Bill Clinton was a busy boy in his last days in office in January 2001. He granted a pardon to his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1985. Clinton also granted a pardon to Patty Hearst, the heiress famous for being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s, and members of the Weather Underground, a left-wing radical group.

However, Clinton waited until the final hours of his presidency for his most controversial pardon when he freed businessman Marc Rich, who was involved with the biggest tax evasion case in US history at the time. Rich made oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. He fled to Switzerland and never returned to the United States. He died in 2013.

Many felt like Rich bought the pardon as his wife donated $1 million to Clinton’s political party. Even former Democratic Jimmy Carter called the pardon disgraceful, and Clinton later regretted it, saying “it wasn’t worth the damage to my reputation.”

1971: Richard Nixon Pardons Lt. William Calley

William Calley was an army officer at the center of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War in 1968. Calley led a group of 100 soldiers into a largely peaceful village where they massacred hundreds of civilians, including women and children. Some victims were also raped by the soldiers.

It was initially covered up before the public learned of the truth. Calley ended up being the only person convicted for his role, sentenced to 22 counts of premeditated murder.

But in 1971, President Richard Nixon stepped in 3 days after the conviction to place Calley under house arrest, which he served for 3 years instead of facing life in prison or at least 20 years behind bars.

The light punishment on Calley split the country as most topics surrounding the Vietnam War did. Later that decade in 1977, President Jimmy Carter gave a controversial pardon on his first day in office to any draft dodgers who fled the United States during the Vietnam War to live in Canada and other countries. This allowed thousands of young men to return to the US.

1865: Andrew Johnson Pardons Confederate Soldiers

At the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, President Andrew Johnson wanted to unify the country as quickly as possible following a long, deadly war that even led to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which is how Johnson assumed office.

Johnson had the idea to pardon Confederate soldiers as long as they pledged allegiance to the US government. Only some high-ranking leaders of pro-slavery states in the South were excluded. But more than 13,000 men applied to receive the pardons.

This helped many ex-Confederate soldiers regain political power in their territories, which is why Johnson was heavily criticized by his party as this move undermined Reconstruction efforts.

2020: Donald Trump Pardons Michael Flynn

Former United States Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn spent 22 days as Donald Trump’s U.S. National Security Advisor before resigning after his scandal involving lying to the FBI about his communication with a Russian ambassador. It is the shortest tenure in history for a National Security Advisor.

Flynn was charged with a felony for lying to the FBI. But weeks after Trump lost the 2020 election, he granted Flynn a full pardon, which dropped the charge. Critics said this was a case of Trump abusing his power on his way out of office, showing no accountability for the rule of law, and being loyal to Flynn for his strong support of Trump’s presidency.

Some have even suggested Trump could put Flynn, who has become a very vocal QAnon supporter, in a cabinet position in his 2nd term, but that remains to be seen. With these politicians, you can never rule anything out.