Stanton argued that by issuing the pardon, Biden missed an opportunity to shore up Americans' waning trust in the justice system.

President Joe Biden just made history — the bad kind — with Sunday night’s sweeping Thanksgiving-weekend pardon of his own son, Hunter Biden. (Talk about trying to bury a story.) The outgoing president made this all way harder than it needed to be on himself, his son, and the justice system.

President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son has left some Democrats fuming over his choice to repeatedly and unequivocally claim that he would never take that step, even though a pardon long appeared possible to Hunter Biden’s legal team.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin suggested pardons should not be used “for family members or to hand out political favors.” And Rep. Mark Pocan offered a tempered response, speculating President-Elect Donald Trump could use the move as an excuse to make pardons of his own, including for those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, reversing his earlier pledge to leave the legal proceedings entirely up to the judicial system. Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges and faced upcoming sentencing.

The pardon comes after Biden repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his son’s sentence. And in his statement, Biden said he was granting the pardon because his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”

President Joe Biden's post was among those given updated context by readers, after he previously said he would not pardon his son.

The president said he issued a pardon because his son was being unfairly targeted for political purposes. Here’s what to know about the pardon, the crimes and the reactions.