Pardon This

“Joe Biden has always been a venal liar who utilized his political power to pursue familial gain. So of course he’s pardoning Hunter. He was always going to pardon Hunter. Hunter was the bagman.” —Ben Shapiro

“Never forget: while Hunter was selling access to ‘the big guy,’ Joe Biden’s administration sent SWAT teams to the homes of prolifers; recruited spies in Catholic parishes; treated parents as domestic terrorists; and prosecuted Trump. The most lawless administration in history.” —Senator Josh Hawley

“So, they decided to lie to the American people and say publicly Joe would not pardon Hunter ‘even though doing so remained on the table.’ It’s all been a lie, it’s all been a scam, and the American people were taken for suckers. Incredible, but not shocking.” —Charlie Kirk

“[Joe] Biden, who will not even meet with his grand daughter Navy, didn’t pardon his son because he’s a good father. He did so because, as his son admits on the Hard Drive, for 30 years Hunter has given half the millions he’s collected to the Boss of the Crime Family — Joe Biden.” — Rudy Giuliani

“What does that feel like, watching yourself back then reassuring people that Biden was not going to issue a pardon for his son?” —CNN anchor Brianna Keilar to New York Democrat Dan Goldman after having just played back the congressman’s earlier remarks

For the Record

“A review of White House transcripts reveals TEN times that either President Biden or White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphatically assured the public that there was absolutely no chance that the president would use his authority to pardon his son Hunter for his various crimes — six felonies combined, six misdemeanors.” —Jim Geraghty

Friendly Fire

“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden ‘s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.” —Colorado Governor Jared Polis

“I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” —Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ)

Dezinformatsiya

“What is before us is a president who is living the rule of the law. He is living it in the most personal way. He is not pardoning his son, which he could do. These are federal charges. He is not doing that. He is not doing it because he is living what it means to have a rule of law in this country.” —MSNBC’s Andrew Weissmann in June

And Last

“You have to admire the raw chutzpah of Biden lying for months about pardoning Hunter, and then concluding his statement about pardoning Hunter with the line, 'For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: Just tell the American people the truth.’” —Charles C.W. Cooke