Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) reflected on the personal hardships faced by President Biden and his family while discussing the recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden. During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Durbin highlighted Biden’s history of loss and resilience, recalling the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of Biden’s first wife and daughter and left his sons, Beau and Hunter, hospitalized.
“This is a man who loves his children and has gone through quite an ordeal…seeing the two boys, Beau and Hunter, go through serious hospital stays and try to rebuild their lives,” Durbin shared with Jake Tapper.
Hunter Biden’s pardon sparks mixed reactions from Senate Democrats
Expressing empathy, Durbin stated, “If I have to have a bias in this area, it’s a loving parent who wants to protect his child. I understand that situation, and I understand Michael Bennet’s observation,” referring to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and his criticism of the pardon.
In defense of his actions, the president released a statement asserting that the charges against his son, including three felony counts related to a firearm purchase in 2018, were politically motivated. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden declared.
Sen. Bennet, however, took issue with the decision, writing on the platform X that the pardon prioritized personal interests over duty and further undermined public trust in the fairness of the justice system. Other Senate Democrats, including Sens. Peter Welch (Vt.), Gary Peters (Mich.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), echoed his concerns.
The pardon represented a switch in Biden’s earlier position, as he and his allies had consistently stated for over a year that no pardon would be offered. “He promised he wouldn’t do it, and now he’s doing it, but it’s a labor of love,” Durbin remarked.
