319 Comments

Hunter’s prosecution was 100% politically motivated— he never would have been prosecuted if wasn’t Joe Biden’s son. I’m glad Joe put his troubled son first.

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Agreed. But, it isn't just the fact that he was charged, but his plea deal falling apart really highlights that this was just a political persecution. It's pretty much become a cliche, but every Republican accusation is really a confession. They were doing to Hunter what they kept accusing Biden of doing to Trump.

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The party of projection. Absolutely.

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8hEdited

This is the primary truth I wish others could see. Sadly, I think more people outside the US can see it than our voting citizens can.

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I think any parent who loves their children understand and citizens who aren't filled with hate and vindictivness also understand. Personally, I tune the MAGAts out because to engage them is futile.

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Joyce, you are right. I think people outside take more time to actually see what is being presented. It may also be that they are more skeptical while Americans tend to take as fact whatever is fed to us even when if we took a fraction of a moment to think about it, we'd see its non-truth or deliberate lie or targeted disinformation. It is almost as though aberage Americans want to be fooled, lied to, as though they were looking for a special secret that only they have, making them somehow, special.

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Kevin, I like your phrase, that every Republican accusation is a confession. I have been trying to frame that concisely and you did it. Thanks. Now, how do we get people in general to understand that this is what is really happening and to help them be aware of it and how it is impacting them as it certainly will.

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I agree but would have used “son that has had problems” rather than labeling him as a troubled person.

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Janina, thank you. I was troubled with that characterization of some e who had a disease, addiction. Almost everyone has or has had some disease. Many fly under the radar or are socially acceptable as ‘being very busy’, which can be a safety blanket to cover all sorts of problems. Just saying….

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President Biden: “I hereby pardon every American registered as a member of the Democratic Party as of December 1, 2024. And I also exonerate Native American Indian activist Leonard Peltier for being falsely accused of aiding and abetting of the murder of 2 FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975.”

There fixed it.

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I was corrected and to.d to have Biden issue a pardon for all Americans in order to take away the persecutor’s tool. I agree a blanket pardon for all. Seriously.

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Agreed

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President Biden is an honorable man. Trump is an adjudicated rapist , felon, lier, Russian

owned, dishonorable in every way a human can be. I have no problem with Hunter’s father pardoning him. What else can Biden do? Whatever it is,I support it; the next 4 years will be

hell on earth for people with a brain and integrity.

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He could give back the Black Hills to the Lakota nation..

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Wouldn’t that be fantastic.

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I hope it's no more than 4 years. I fear he'll use his Inaugural Address to declareartial law and declare himself Emperor.

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He will. He told us already. He’s the best puppet Putin could have ever hope for, specially with Elon Musk’s manipulation as he’s following Putin’s playbook. He couldn’t trust Trump’s demented, unhinged behaviour. Trump is the face of his illiterate cult who will find out too late the big mistake. Only the billionaires will hit the jackpot as they’ll become part of the kleptocracy.

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Fortunately, under all that bluster, the balloon is only filled with hot air. Not intellect, no sanity, only delusions of grand military parades in his honor, jackboots stomping his name. Gonna get dark, but good people can prevail.

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Doesn't anyone want a recount of the presidential election in all 7 swing states? The irregularities are screaming for scrutiny. Then, it would be possible that it won't be a day of 4 years--the best possible outcome, finding out what Putin and Elon Musk bragged about and colluded to in regard to Trump "owing them."

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Valerie, I agree.

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Yes, reexamine those results. A ground game of a campaign led by Elon Musk means cash bribes could have been employed to get all those normally non- or infrequent voters to agree to vote for Trump. All those ballots with just the presidential choice designated? Seems like a possible Musk result. This needs to be investigated before the change in January.

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Putin & Musk didn't sink all that money into Traitor's election for nothing. He definitely owes them for the constant Russian propaganda for the past 8 years at least, spewed constantly on Fox News, Musk's platform, and other sites not even on our radar.

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I agree too

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Totally.

Plus, doesn’t anybody wonder what the CyberNinjas that Trump’s side use to supposedly help verify for problems in the election as a way to plan to falsify the next election?

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Yep, I agree Maureen. This will be an absolutely horrific time and I am not convinced democracy will succeed.

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I share in your horror. He’s insane. This time he will be surrounded by yes people. No limits to what he might do.

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Deirdre, I know it’s tough but don’t lose hope. We have to fight them every step of the way.

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Pride goes before destruction. Is there anyone more haughty than trump? He will ultimately fall.

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Can’t wait to see them and especially trump, fall!!

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Steve: As long as his “fall” doesn’t come from WW3. (In other words, he can still do a lot of damage before the fall)

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I’ve had that same thought. But wouldn’t the military be needed to make that happen? I would hope most of the military leaders would honor their oaths as well to the Constitution rather than show loyalty to a wannabe be dictator.

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Can’t Biden use his executive powers to stop Trump from destroying our democracy and and constitution implementing an authoritarian government? This is TREASON!

Congress passed a law to keep the offices of the DOJ, the FBI, the CIA INDEPENDENT of the Executive branch yet Trump is clearly appointing leaders of those offices who are loyal to him. This is against the law!

Trump is once again participating in an INSURRECTION!

Joyce, is there anything Biden can do to halt this? Trump is not president yet!

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The senate could stop those appointments

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Start with the election. Russian interference! Recounts where appropriate can be finished in a matter of days.

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Yes!

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Sometimes I wonder if they actually asked legit people who said, "No thanks."

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Nope, he’s getting exactly what he/Putin/Musk wants. Loyalty and rage, hatred of government, chaos.

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Biden needs to sign the ERA into law. It's been 100 years since its beginning, and if this moment passes it will be 100 more.

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Unfortunately, the required number of states didn't reach the minimum needed for a constitutional amendment, or it would have already been implemented.

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I so thoroughly agree with you; very well written and thought out!

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I am relieved Pres. Biden pardoned Hunter. Trump is preparing for revenge and Hunter was in a particularly precarious position, and unfairly so.

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I was hoping and waiting for President Biden to pardon Hunter. I am relieved!

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Joyce hit the nail on the head with. . . "the reality is, whatever he is going to do—blanket pardons for January 6 defendants and perhaps every single person in federal prison anywhere who is a supporter of his—he would have done anyhow."

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Justice served. Tank Top Tramp....Marjorie Toilet Greene can take her Bleech Blonde Bad Built Butch Body and do a deep dive.......probably burning out the batteries of her vibrator looking at those pictures she loves so much. LOL!!!

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Yes, very precarious if Trump is at the helm. People like Charlie Sykes criticized Biden for the "unwiseness" of this pardon...without any awareness of how Hunter would be at Trump's sadistic "mercy"!

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Congratulations to President Biden for pardoning his son! Let the Republicans stamp their feet and scream till they turn blue in the face! Too bad.

Trump is making a mockery of the presidency and is the very last person to call foul! I'm just grateful Hunter Biden will be safe to go on with his life and I wish him and his family well.

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Love the image of GOP faces turning Blue!

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Good for you, President Biden. You are a good man, and father.

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Joyce, a question about pardons: Trump is going to launch attacks on Jack Smith and his staff, Letitia James, Fani Willis, judges Chutkan and Merchan, Cheney, Raskin, etc. etc. In a normal world, judges would dismiss frivolous, malicious attacks, but I'm afraid that the Trump team will try to somehow give them years of expensive and painful torture designed to send a signal to others. Any possibility of preemptive pardons as a merciful way to get the evil off their backs?

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That makes at least three of us with the same concerns. Preemptively pardon Jack Smith and his team? Possible??

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Ford preemptively pardoned Nixon.

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I'm thinking that pardoning someone before they are charged with a crime is in conflict with the rule of law that no one is above the law. It can't be a good thing that someone who is suspected of committing a crime can be pardoned before they have been subjected to a judicial process. It feels like a stay out of jail free card. The pardon for Nixon is slightly different because it was known that Nixon had committed a crime. The constitutionality of a preemptive pardon has not been tested.

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And isn’t a pardon supposed to be connected to actual guilt?

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It should be.

If I could change the Constitution I would add that only those convicted of federal felonies can receive a pardon.

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He might even go after Biden. Anything is thinkable now!

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I fear for both Biden and Harris.

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He's gonna try, but SCOTUS has given Biden and all future presidents a free get out of jail card...

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Would that include VPs? I’m guessing not..

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I have the same concerns.

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Frankly I wonder if the judges and prosecutors would accept a pardon since it is clear that none of them violated the law. I also doubt that Raskin would do so. I donʻt know about Cheney but my guess is that she also wouldnʻt accept a pardon. Itʻs a terrible situation. Blue states such as mine (Hawaii) need to provide sanctuary to anyone at risk of these blatant authoritarian moves.

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There is no sanctuary for federal crimes - except in countries without extradition treaties.

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There is no legal basis for Trump to go after prosecutors and judges who have done their duty and committed no wrong. It would be demeaning to all to prostrate themselves before the mad king and ask to be "pardoned."

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Where did you get the idea that "legal basis" actually mattered to Trump, Nev? Remember McCabe, Strozk, Hunter Biden, Comey, etc., etc., etc. Revenge is the only basis needed for a psychopath. There is a reason Trump is hung up on Hanibal Lecter. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked the White House chef to serve up his perceived enemies using Lecter's recipes.

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They need protection and would have comfort in knowing that they were protected from Trump’s wrath.

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I'm concerned that a preemptive pardon is in conflict with the rule of law that no person is above the law. The thinking is that why would an innocent person accept a pardon? In the case of Nixon, while he didn't admit guilt, his acceptance of the pardon was an admission of his guilt. In the Iran Contra affair, HW Bush issued a preemptive pardon to Caspar Wineberger but he had been charged and was awaiting trial.

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Great inquiry

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Great idea! Emai the President at Whitehouse.gov!

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Good job, Joe. “Time served” in the MAGA spotlight is punishment enough.

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I am absolutely thrilled that Joe pardoned Hunter! He can stick those lewd posters MGT showed in Congress right jump her proverbial ass! Let the MAGATS roar and scream foul. Joe stuck it to them before they could break this fine man’s heart into pieces. I wasn’t certain he would do it, but I am sure happy he did.

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**not jump** Should say *up* and no, the three dots do not work with an Apple device, unfortunately.

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If you exit the app, wait several minutes, go back into the app, find the comment you want to edit, and then select the three dots, you should get an edit option. I am on an Apple device also, and it is cumbersome, but that’s how I do it. You can also wait until someone likes your comment and you get notified, then select “view comment,” find your comment, and select edit from there.

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Okay, i will try that. Thx

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Is there any way to search without scrolling through everything? This app has one of the worse interfaces I have seen. The AI auto correct features love to create typos that are difficult to correct. Perhaps I am incompetent. I hate split infinitives, missing third commas in a series, and tpyos. I suffer from going to a liberal arts school.

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I hear you. It is crazy making.

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I am SO guilty of split infinitives. I have to be so careful when I write.

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I have been able to edit on my PC, but not my phone.

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I hope it's the case that only the author can edit.

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Hunter Biden was the perfect pawn for Trump’s revenge machine. A pardon wasn’t just about justice—it was about protecting him from a weaponized DOJ under a president who thrives on vendettas. Biden chose the least bad option in an ugly situation.

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Regarding my last comment, it is BS that President Biden is criticized for “changing his mind”. The circumstances that changed are when Trump was elected and has nominated a bunch of election deniers and criminals to his cabinet who have vowed retribution against all of the Biden family. Do you think Hunter would have been safe under a Trump BOP? Think again, if he had been incarcerated and President Biden waited until the his last day to pardon him, a command from Trump or his surrogate to not release him might have been in full force. Things have changed and history will treat President Biden well.

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Yes, changing your mind when presented with new evidence does not mean you were initially lying.

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Screw the optics. They're meaningless and especially when compared to those around the miscreants Demento pardoned (and presumably will pardon). Joe Biden bent over backwards to let justice play out, down to keeping the Demento-appointed US Attorney pursuing the Hunter Biden case in place, when he took office. His DOJ allowed Weiss, the US Attorney, to become a special counsel and pursue new charges when the original plea deal fell apart. It also allowed Bill Barr's special counsel, John Durham, to continue his fool's errand of an investigation into the FBI probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The country owes Joe Biden a round of thanks for what will be more than 50 years of dedicated public service. If allowing his son, under the law, to be free of spurious charges is one way to do that, so be it. Demento has permanently stained this country far more than a pardon of Hunter Biden will even come close to matching.

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I, for one, am glad the President pardoned his son for the “Trumped up” charges he faced. We will most certainly hear about how Biden has overstepped his authority and shown himself to be unpatriotic. To hell with all of that. He did the right thing and it’s time other Democrats stop trying to avoid the perception of doing something wrong. If it’s, legal, moral and ethically sound… just do it. And this pardon, was all these things.

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Good for Biden. He and his family have been maligned, lied about, and assaulted not only by Trump, but by the so-called mainstream media, including the NYTimes. The prosecutions were totally political. Biden stayed within the law and protected his family. I have absolutely no problem with it.

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I'm thankful that Biden reversed his stance. In the interests of justice, this was the only possible choice that was appropriate. I doubt that, had Harris won instead of the orange guy, that the pardon would have been forthcoming.

I hope Hunter can continue to rebuild his life in peace and anonymity.

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I agree with you Joyce that Biden did the only right thing to Pardon Hunter. He has already paid plenty!

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The pardon should have happened long ago. The dems with their pearl clutching need to stop perseverating that Trump will use this as pushback. Has been and always will be as corrupt and hypocritical as they come. I’d like to think Merrick Garland was honorable in allowing the Trump prosecutor to proceed with charges against Hunter. He is complicit in nearly destroying him in the name of “no one is above the law”.

Hunter committed a tax violation many of us including myself (thought certainly not of that extent, but was 5 figures instead of 6). I paid the tax, penalty and interest and he did too.

He committed a gun violation by not disclosing his past addiction, never used it and owned it for 11 days, yet he faced jail time but for his name is Biden. The assertions that he received an unfair pardon is a false equivalency compared to the hundreds of people Trump plans to pardon for J6, which now unfortunately he will be empowered to do.

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Excellent analysis Debi Wong! Charging a criminal violation that is subject to time in prison is absolutely ridiculous for an 11-day violation in which not a single person was hurt, threatened, or injured! As any tax accountant can testify, paying back taxes in full with interest is not usually punished by jail either, particularly if the offender had been a serious drug user. The Republican prosecutor knew he was overreaching!

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What Trump intends to do (Project 2025) which he is revealing in both his rhetoric and actions (appointing loyalist to offices that by law are to be independent and nonpartisan of the executive branch) is tantamount to TREASON.

As he blatantly intends to overthrow our government and replace it with an authoritarian rule, can’t President Biden hold him accountable and stop him?

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