A professor emeritus of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College unloaded on President Joe Biden on Monday over his decision to pardon his son.
Joe Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon to his Hunter Biden on Sunday, a sweeping forgiveness for any crimes he may have committed or participated in between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.
The pardon specifically applies to Hunter Biden's federal gun charge and tax evasion cases. Hunter was convicted of three felony charges related to buying a gun in 2018 while battling drug addiction and lying about it on his application. He also pleaded guilty to nine tax evasion charges in September.
In his statement, Biden argued that a "carefully negotiated plea deal agreed to by the Department of Justice unraveled in the courtroom, with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process."
Tom Nichols, who taught at the Naval War College for more than 25 years, wrote in The Atlantic on Monday night that the pardon was not only a "terrible idea," it was a "tremendous strategic blunder, one that will haunt Democrats as they head into the first years of another Trump administration."
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Nichols pointed to President-elect Donald Trump, who has already vowed to issue controversial pardons once regaining the Oval Office. This includes reviewing the cases of Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
"Nothing will stop Trump from doing such things, nor will he pay any political price for such future pardons: All he ever cared about was winning the White House to stay out of jail, and he’s accomplished that mission," wrote Nichols.
He argued that Republicans would've had to answer for Trump's actions without leaning on the Biden decision. Now, they can — even Republicans in vulnerable districts.
"Joe Biden has now provided every Republican—and especially those running for Congress in 2026—with a ready-made heat shield against any criticism about Trump’s pardons, past or present," wrote Nichols.
He concluded in his piece that while Joe Biden may have saved his son and stuck it to everyone else, including those who pushed him out of the race, he may have also done so to many other Democrats and "undermined the resolve they’ll need to defend the rule of law."
