CNN legal analyst calls Hunter Biden pardon 'historic act of political nepotism'

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called President Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, a “historic act of political nepotism.” 

“There has long been a fair debate — fair on both sides — about whether Hunter Biden is being treated overly leniently or overly zealously because of his status as Joe Biden's son,” Honig said on Monday morning on CNN. 

“I think there are points to both sides of that. But what I think is not disputable is that this is a historic act of political nepotism. This is the granting of a pardon by the president to his son." 

He added that Biden’s “full and unconditional pardon” for his son is as “broad as a pardon can possibly be” because it pardons Hunter for any offenses since Jan. 1, 2014. He compared the “full and unconditional” pardon to the one President Ford granted former President Nixon as the only close precedent.

“Joe Biden even says — if you really parse his statement, he acknowledges that a substantial part of this is because Hunter Biden is his son, and that will land Joe Biden on a historic list that he probably doesn’t want to be a part of,” Honig said.

President Biden in his statement Sunday said he was issuing the pardon because his son was the subject of a political prosecution.  

“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” the statement read. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” 

The White House argued Monday that the president issued the pardon because President-elect Trump and the GOP would not "let go" of Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden was found guilty in June in a federal case on three felony charges over his purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, violating the law by concealing drug use. He also pleaded guilty in September to nine federal tax charges, avoiding a trial. 

He was facing a sentencing hearing next week.