German political analyst points to US reputation decline after Biden pardons son

US President Joe Biden' s decision to pardon his son Hunter and spare him from punishment for criminal offenses against the state has hit the country's reputation in the eyes of its citizens and the world community. Ike Hamer, a German political scientist, economist and doctor of economic sciences, said this in a conversation with Izvestia on December 2.

Biden, whose powers expire in January, decided to pardon Hunter the day before. He was accused in two criminal cases: non-payment of taxes and possession of weapons. The head of state emphasized that his son was targeted solely because of political pressure.

"The reputation of the US has fallen internationally, the reputation of the US has fallen domestically, and all because of things like this. There is a small loophole in the US constitution that allows the president to simply repeal the law. <...> On the one hand, they prosecute people for speeding. On the other hand, the real criminals, who laundered millions, who did all their illegal activities with girls, with drugs, with guns, broke so many laws, they can just pardon them," Hammer commented.

In his opinion, Biden Sr.'s decision is an abuse of power. Against this background, it can be assumed that it was the president who was behind all criminal prosecutions against his opponent Donald Trump, who won the election of the head of state.

"U.S. taxpayers paid millions to pursue this case with lawyers, with judges, with hearings, with everything. And after this pardon, everything should just evaporate, just disappear. <...> This is very bad for the American justice system. Why should someone in the U.S. follow the rules and someone else is exempted from responsibility for not following them?" - wondered the expert.

In addition, he noted that a similar situation occurred with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The political scientist emphasized that she committed fraud worth hundreds of millions of euros, but she got away with it all.

"The average American understands that they have to follow the rules. But they also see that people who make wars around the world 'in the name of goodness', 'in the name of honesty', 'in the name of freedom', 'in the name of democracy' - they are criminals, but for them they write a pardon note and say it's OK," Hamer concluded.

Biden dropped all criminal charges against his son Hunter. What the media is saying

Reacting to his father's decision, Hunter Biden said that he intends to devote his life to helping people with addictions. In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Izvestia that Hunter's pardon is a caricature of democracy.

Americanist Malek Dudakov, talking to "Izvestia" on December 2, admitted that Joe Biden might pardon his other relatives, for example, his brother James. He also noted that this decision of the American leader sets a precedent - before him, none of the US presidents had initiated pardons for their children.

Before that, on October 24, Trump, at that time a presidential candidate, admitted that he could pardon Hunter Biden after his victory. According to the politician, he is able to take such a step, although he himself was severely persecuted by the current authorities. At the same time, the White House has repeatedly denied the possibility of such a decision.

In September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of criminal charges in the case of non-payment of taxes, and in June - on three counts of weapons possession. At the same time, he himself pleaded guilty in the case of tax crimes.