00:00Listen, you guys can spend all day long trying to spin this that this is Donald Trump's fault,
00:07that this is somehow caused by Donald Trump.
00:09Oh, he's appointing the wrong people.
00:11Oh, he did it.
00:12Oh, this is the worst possible thing a president could possibly do to his party and to the
00:18country to sit for a year and say, I will not do this.
00:24I will not do this.
00:25The rule of law is sacred.
00:27We have to respect the justice system, juries.
00:30We have to respect juries.
00:31We have to respect the guardrails and the norms of our democracy.
00:36These people are liars.
00:39The surprise Sunday night announcement of Hunter Biden's presidential pardon sent seismic
00:44shockwaves throughout Washington's political establishment.
00:47What had been repeatedly denied by the administration suddenly became reality, catching even seasoned
00:53political observers off guard.
00:56The timing and scope of the decision would soon raise questions about both its motivation
01:01and implications.
01:02Hi, guys.
01:03Good morning.
01:04Well, this is a big 180 for a president who has long said he will follow the rule of law.
01:07But the president says he changed his mind because he believes Hunter's charges were
01:11meant to break him politically.
01:13In a statement, the president says, in part, here's the truth.
01:16I believe in the justice system.
01:17But as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and
01:22it led to a miscarriage of justice.
01:25Hunter was supposed to have sentencing hearings on December 12th for his gun case and December
01:2916th for his tax case.
01:31The scope of the pardon immediately distinguished it from typical exercises of presidential
01:36clemency.
01:37Its sweeping breadth raised questions about what exactly was being protected from scrutiny.
01:43The timeline covered by the pardon seemed particularly calculated, especially given
01:48its relationship to Hunter Biden's international business dealings.
01:51But the president's pardon doesn't just cover these offenses.
01:54It covers any crime the first son may have committed between January 2014 to December
01:582024.
02:00And that timeframe is notable given that Hunter joined the board of Burisma Holdings in 2014
02:06and he has been scrutinized for his foreign business dealings.
02:09The president says he made this decision over the weekend while spending Thanksgiving holiday
02:13with his family.
02:15But NBC, which was the first to report this news, says the president had been talking
02:19about the possibility of pardoning Hunter with his close aides as far back as June when
02:24Hunter was convicted on those gun charges.
02:27The choreography of the announcement itself spoke volumes about the administration's approach
02:31to transparency.
02:32The timing and circumstances suggested a careful orchestration designed to minimize immediate
02:37fallout.
02:39Critics saw it as a calculated move to avoid direct questioning and accountability.
02:44That's fantastic.
02:45So we knew this was going to happen, but we just couldn't believe the audacious way it
02:49did happen.
02:50Number one, I think it took almost zero courage.
02:54You do it on a Sunday and then go to Angola and then take your press secretary with you.
02:59So no press conferences.
03:00Just let let the chips fall where they may.
03:03Pardoning your son to me is not shocking.
03:05Roger Clinton getting pardoned by Bill Clinton, not shocking, but never admitting to never
03:11admitting that you were going to do it, saying definitively you wouldn't do it and then going
03:15ahead and doing it.
03:16The credibility gap between the administration's previous statements and current actions became
03:20immediately apparent.
03:22These contradictions struck at the heart of public trust, raising fundamental questions
03:27about the administration's honesty and transparency.
03:30The pattern of denials followed by reversals had become increasingly difficult to ignore.
03:36So speaking of allies, The Daily Signal puts it this way, talking about some of the lies
03:41that have been said from the White House podium.
03:44It's transitory.
03:45Inflation.
03:46Afghanistan was a success.
03:47The border is secure.
03:48Robert, her lie.
03:49Biden's fine.
03:51Those videos are cheap fakes.
03:52Biden had jet lag.
03:54Biden had a cold.
03:55Biden isn't going to be replaced.
03:57Biden isn't going to pardon Hunter.
03:59The timing of the pardon coming just before scheduled sentencing hearings particularly
04:04stood out to legal observers.
04:07Unlike previous presidential pardons of family members, this action's preemptive nature set
04:12it apart.
04:13The contrast with historical precedents was striking, and the implications for future
04:18use of presidential pardon power were concerning.
04:21Brian, you brought up the fact that on the way out, Bill Clinton pardoned his half brother
04:27Roger for cocaine.
04:29On the way out, Donald Trump pardoned his son-in-law, Jared's father, Charles.
04:36But what's unique about this case is both of those people had served time already.
04:41They'd already done their their jail time.
04:44This is to avoid jail time because he has not been sentenced yet.
04:48And so this is just essentially a gigantic get out of jail free card.
04:53Axios says they've got to break down why Joe Biden did this now.
04:58The White House's defense centered on portraying the president as a father protecting his son
05:03from political persecution.
05:05This narrative aimed to humanize what critics saw as an abuse of power.
05:09Yet the administration's attempts to frame the decision as a response to political targeting
05:14faced significant skepticism.
05:16The explanation seemed to raise more questions than it answered.
05:20Well, look, literally, you know, the president recognizes that Republicans have been for
05:26years now trying to attack the president himself, go after his family.
05:31And when you have someone who literally ran their campaign on retribution, on the idea
05:38of I will be your retribution and getting back at his enemies, I would imagine I haven't
05:44spoken to the president about this, but I would imagine the president took a look at
05:47this and said, I want to make sure this is ironclad, that there is nothing that can be
05:53done to circumvent what I'm going to do to protect my son and to try to take the target
05:59off of his back final once and for all.
06:02The administration's shifting narratives about Hunter Biden's business acumen and personal
06:07struggles created additional complications.
06:10Critics pointed to contradictions in how the president's son was portrayed, depending
06:14on the political context.
06:16The dual narrative of successful businessmen and struggling addict seemed difficult to
06:21reconcile.
06:22These inconsistencies further undermined the administration's credibility on the matter.
06:27They said that Hunter Biden was a successful businessman and also that he was an addict
06:32as well.
06:33So the smartest man in the room that was also severely addicted to you cannot have it both
06:39ways.
06:40He said he was a successful businessman, but had all these connections or he was addicted.
06:45I think can't be both.
06:47I think also he thinks that as a dad, maybe he's afraid to lose another son.
06:52And that's why he wants to take care of this son.
06:54The implications of this decision extend far beyond the immediate context of Hunter Biden's
06:59legal troubles.
07:00The precedent set here could fundamentally reshape how future presidents approach their
07:05pardon power, particularly regarding family members and political allies.
07:10Some observers saw it as potentially opening the door to more controversial pardons in
07:14the future, while others worried about the long term impact on institutional credibility.
07:19Well, when President Trump tries to pardon the J6ers, I think he's going to have a lot
07:23less pushback.
07:24Right.
07:25He's going to say, you know what?
07:26I looked at it.
07:27They suffered enough.
07:28They actually went to jail.
07:29Well, so Brian, in some cases, it's not of if he wants to.
07:33He's definitely going to do it now.
07:34He has all the political cover to do it right now.
07:37After this?
07:38No time.
07:40People have already served some time.
07:41You've got a praying grandmother that was praying outside of the Capitol or right inside
07:45of the Capitol.
07:46And she's doing 10 years, I think.
07:49So, I mean, you can see the pardons coming.
07:51Yeah, this is great.
07:52We have so much.
07:53We have so much on this show.
07:54And listen, Hunter had every opportunity under the sun.
07:57I read his his ex-wife's book, Kathleen's book.
08:00And wow.
08:02I know it's just her side of the story.
08:04But what he put his family through and his children through and his ex-wife through is
08:09unbelievable.
08:10This watershed moment in American political history transcends the immediate controversy
08:14surrounding Hunter Biden's legal troubles.
08:17It fundamentally challenges our understanding of presidential power, family loyalty and
08:22institutional integrity.
08:24The precedent set by this sweeping preemptive pardon may reverberate through future administrations,
08:30potentially transforming how executive clemency is wielded as a political tool.
08:34As we witness this pivotal shift in the exercise of presidential authority, we must ask ourselves,
08:40have we entered a new era where family ties and political convenience trump the principles
08:45of equal justice under law?
08:48And if so, what does this mean for the future of American democracy?
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