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Quick Take
President Joe Biden is one of only a few presidents who have granted pardons to a relative. But social media posts falsely claim that former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush also pardoned family members. While Billy Carter and Neil Bush faced controversies, neither was criminally charged nor received a pardon.
Full Story
On Dec. 1, President Joe Biden granted his son, Hunter, “a full and unconditional pardon” for any crimes “he has committed or may have committed” between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.
In June, Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies related to his purchase and possession of a Cobra Colt revolver in 2018. According to the prosecution, the president’s son violated federal law by owning the gun as an active drug user and by lying about his drug use on a federal form necessary to purchase the gun. The sentencing trial for the case was scheduled for Dec. 12.
In September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes for tax years 2016 through 2019. The sentencing trial for that case was scheduled for Dec. 16.
Joe Biden is one of a few presidents who have pardoned a relative. In 2001, on his last day in office, then-President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 1985 for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In December 2020, then-President Donald Trump pardoned his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2005 for filing false tax returns, making false statements to the FEC and retaliating against a witness.
But social media users have falsely claimed that former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush also pardoned relatives.
The claim originated on X on Dec. 2, where it was posted by Grant Stern, an editor for the advocacy group Occupy Democrats. Stern wrote: “Jimmy Carter pardoned his brother Billy Carter who took over $200,000 from Libya as its foreign agent. George H.W. Bush pardoned his son Neil Bush for his role in the S&L scandals of the 1980s. Nobody thinks those pardons defined either presidency. Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden won’t either.”
The claim was also shared on Threads.
Billy Carter and Neil Bush were both embroiled in controversies, but they were not criminally charged or convicted and they did not receive pardons.
Between 1978 and 1979, Billy Carter received $220,000 from the Libyan government and later registered as a foreign agent for that country. A Senate inquiry launched in 1980 found that Billy Carter’s relationship with Libya was “contrary to the interests of the President and the United States,” but found “no evidence” that any Carter administration policy decisions were influenced by the relationship.
In 1991, Neil Bush settled a civil suit with federal regulators over the failure of Silverado Banking, Savings, & Loans, where he was a board member from 1985 to 1988. Silverado collapsed in 1988, costing taxpayers $1 billion. While Neil Bush and other former directors and officials were accused of gross negligence and ordered to pay $26.5 million to regulators, they did not face criminal charges.
Article II, Section 2 gives presidents the power to grant pardons only for “offences against the United States,” meaning criminal offenses. Therefore, a president cannot grant a pardon for a federal civil claim or state criminal charges or civil claims.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Meta to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Meta has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
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Cohen, Marshall, and Holmes Lybrand. “Hunter Biden convicted on all 3 charges at federal gun trial.” CNN. 11 Jun 2024.
Cohen, Marshall, et al. “Hunter Biden pleads guilty to federal tax charges, in surprise move on brink of trial.” CNN. 5 Sep 2024.
Lardner, George. “Intelligence Confirmed Billy Got Libyan Money.” New York Times. 22 Jul 1980.
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Nicholas, Peter, and Jonathan Allen. “The White House says no, but questions about Joe Biden pardoning his son persist.” NBC. 16 Dec 2023.
Office of Special Counsel David C. Weiss. “Robert Hunter Biden Convicted on Three Felony Tax Offenses and Six Misdemeanor Tax Offenses.” Press release. 5 Sep 2024.
Office of U.S. Attorney Scott Resnik. “Political Contributor and Developer Charles Kushner Sentenced to Maximum 24 Months for Witness Retaliation and Other Crimes.” Press release. 4 Mar 2024.
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Yilek, Caitlin. “Biden still does not plan to pardon his son Hunter, White House says.” CBS. 7 Nov 2024.