‘It’s a Sad Statement About Where We Are’: A Pardon Expert Explains Biden’s Decision to Pardon His Son - POLITICO

"The first point is that Donald Trump is promising to use the Department of Justice and the FBI for political vengeance, and he has taken steps in that direction with his nominees for FBI director and attorney general. So it's fair for Biden to be concerned that there will be a bullseye on his son's back. I think we're going to see a very different Justice Department under Donald Trump — one we've never seen before — so I see Biden's decision as reactive to the unprecedented nature of Donald Trump's promises for the next administration. 

The second point is that pardons are, in theory, based on mercy and fairness. Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury of lying on a gun application about his addiction that he had spiraled into after the death of his brother from brain cancer. Even the likes of Lindsey Graham have said that that's not the kind of crime that would typically be brought against anyone unless they were being singled out in this way. Given that — and also given the fact the tax crimes in California occurred in a small number of years under which he was struggling with addiction — Hunter Biden in theory falls within the category of someone who might satisfy the criteria for a pardon, notwithstanding his relationship with his father…"

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/12/03/hunter-biden-pardon-constitution-00192311