“My fellow Americans: Today I am granting a full pardon to my son, Hunter Biden.
“Let me explain.
“I said I believed in the rule of law, and I do. I have devoted my life to protecting it.
“I said that I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s prosecution of Hunter, and I didn’t. At no time did I contact the department about the case or pressure it in any way.
“But I also said that I wouldn’t pardon Hunter. And then I changed my mind. As much as I love my country, I love my son more.
“There, I said it. But if you look into your own heart, I think you will admit that you would have done exactly what I did.
“What if it was your own child, facing up to 25 years in prison for lying about his drug addiction when he bought a handgun? Or as many as 17 years in jail, for evading his taxes and filing a false return?
“Sure, as a first-time offender, he would probably have served no more than 36 months. But who knows? And would you — as his parent — have been willing to take that chance?
“Then there are the charges about his business dealings in the Ukraine, starting in 2014. And yes, I extended the pardon back that far.
“Here’s why: My political enemies have made it clear that they’ll never stop asserting that I conspired with Hunter to protect Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company which paid him more than $1 million a year to serve on its board.
“Never mind that a four-month House Republican investigation found no evidence that I took action — as vice president, or as president — to assist Hunter’s work in Ukraine. That won’t deter the present-day GOP, which has made “Burisma” and the “Biden Crime Family” into 24/7 rallying cries.
“And you can bet that the Justice Department would continue this witch hunt if Pam Bondi — Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general — is confirmed. Speaking at the 2020 Republican convention, Bondi repeated the charges about Burisma, Hunter and myself.
“If you were me, would you have left the fate of your son in the hands of someone who has already decided he is guilty? I didn’t think so.
“I know that these same enemies will use this moment to demand clemency for the rioters — Trump calls them ‘hostages‘ — who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. If I can use my presidential powers to pardon Hunter, why shouldn’t Trump grant the same to insurrectionists?
“Here’s why: Their action was much worse. They attacked the most sacred home of our government in an attempt to overthrow an election. You just can’t compare that to tax evasion and lying on a gun application.
“But my son did commit those crimes. He pleaded guilty to the tax charge, and a jury convicted him of the gun-related one. I don’t contest any of that.
“Nor will I claim that Hunter was prosecuted because he’s my son. That would echo Trump’s baseless charges about the “weaponization” of justice against him. And it would further the public’s overall cynicism about our political institutions.
“Instead, I’ll simply tell you the truth. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that my son could go to jail any day. Period.
“Maybe you’re better than me. Maybe you could have placed your principles over your family, and let the chips fall for Hunter where they may.
“I’m not that good. I’m an imperfect human being. And one of our chief imperfections is, yes, our willingness to sacrifice our most cherished values for the people we love.
“Here I follow George Orwell, who wrote a searing critique of Mahatma Gandhi after the Indian independence hero was murdered in 1948. Orwell admired Gandhi’s anti-imperialist politics but questioned his commitment to ‘humanity’ over flesh-and-blood humans, especially those closest to him.
“‘To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others,’ Orwell proclaimed. ‘The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty . . . and that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love upon other human individuals.’
“My family has been defeated and broken up by life. I lost my first wife and daughter to a car accident, and I lost my first son to cancer. I almost lost Hunter to addiction. And I love my children more than anything else, including all of the beliefs I hold dear.
“Don’t you?”
Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of “Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools” and eight other books.
