• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      It’s not that people are mad he’s doing it, we’re mad he’s not doing more meaningful thing that will help people not named Biden or help a foreign country commit a genocide.

      What gets me tho is his supporters applauding this.

      Even when he spent months promising not to do this because of the sanctity of justice system…

      I know I could tell he was lying. But his supporters swore up and down Biden wouldn’t lie, and now they’re supporting it.

      Do you honestly not understand why 1/3 of the country treats both parties as out of touch liars who don’t care for 99.99% of Americans?

      Like, if “nothing matters” why isn’t Biden doing more? Why isn’t he even appointing all the empty judges seats before Trump can?

      Why is the only things he can do on his way out the door arming a genocidal far right religious state for their genocide and pardoning his own son?

      • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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        Even when he spent months promising not to do this because of the sanctity of justice system…

        He probably wasn’t lying. Hunter was convicted for purely political reasons. The crimes he was convicted of are rarely enforced and almost never result in jail time against first offenders. The President assumed that his son would be treated fairly like any other first time offender. He believed in the sanctity of the justice system but has now been forced to revise that opinion because it’s perfectly clear that he was wrong.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          The President assumed that his son would be treated fairly like any other first time offender.

          You’re aware Biden is in charge of the DOJ right?

          So he’s admitting his DOJ was fucked up and acting in bad faith…

          But rather than at any point since he realized that, he’s choosing to only save his son and still not do any actual justice reform?

          A regular person saving their son, ok. We get it

          The literal one person able to save millions of sons? He should do actual reform.

          He’d save his own son in the process too.

          Like, you realize there’s a shit ton of open judicial seats Biden is about to let trump seat as soon as he comes into office right?

          Are you implying Biden appointed such shit people to lead the DOJ that he now trusts Trump’s judgement more?

          Like I said:

          Like, if “nothing matters” why isn’t Biden doing more? Why isn’t he even appointing all the empty judges seats before Trump can?

          But if be really surprised if anyone actually explains why Biden not even appointing 30 judges is ok, let alone why the Senate not confirming 42 is bad.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            Biden allowed the prosecution of Hunter to avoid the appearance of not being neutral.

            Now that Trump has won and a) is openly talking about pardoning anyone and everyone and b) wanting to prosecute his enemies list, it 100% makes sense to beat him to the punch and pardon Hunter.

            If Kamala had won, he would have let it all stand.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              Biden allowed the prosecution of Hunter to avoid the appearance of not being neutral

              But the reality is he wasnt neutral…

              So, when you portray a situation falsely because you know the blowback would hurt your chances in an upcoming election (Biden was the candidate then)

              That is commonly referred to:

              Being a fucking liar

              And when you do that for something everyone knows you’re lying about, that’s going to hurt turnout for the entire party, even if you do eventually shuffle off the stage before the election.

              You may be 100% of with the only two parties only running liars

              But if you want a way to make Dems able to win again, fight for honest authentic candidates who will help Americans.

              You’ll never find a neoliberal as good as lying as a Republican. So why play that game.

              If Kamala had won, he would have let it all stand.

              My opinion is obviously he wouldn’t have. I’m not sure why your preventing your opinion as a fact, or even why you still think the next president somehow controls sentencing…

              Like, you get that right?

              That the entire premise for your argument about why this is ok has no factual basis?

              If you think I’m wrong, by all means explain how the incoming president co trolls that, and how Biden wasn’t able to control it now for a fair result and not an all or nothing like you’re presenting

              • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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                Oh, he definitely wasn’t neutral, no father could be, that’s why I say he was trying to avoid the APPEARANCE of not being neutral. ;)

                Now that Trump has won and is talking crazy shit, there’s no need to maintain appearances.

              • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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                So, when you portray a situation falsely because you know the blowback would hurt your chances in an upcoming election (Biden was the candidate then)

                Are you seriously upset that Biden pardoned his son’s charges of checking the no box to the do you use drugs question on his firearm application. And paying his taxes late?

                That’s gotta be every single weed smoker in a recreational state.

                And when you do that for something everyone knows you’re lying about, that’s going to hurt turnout for the entire party, even if you do eventually shuffle off the stage before the election.

                Oh he shuffled off stage all right. Right before the democratic wolve party beat him with a broomstick and replaced him with a pinata.

                • Burninator05@lemmy.world
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                  The Attorney General leads the DoJ and is a member of the president’s cabinet. The DoJ is also part of the executive branch. While it is “bad form” for the president to order the AG to do something, the president can fire the AG. Look up what Nixon did to find out more.

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          the crimes he was convicted of are rarely enforced and almost never resulted in jail time against first offenders

          This is the same line trump supporters use when defending his convictions, and it probably is true for both. If your in politics you and your family are, and should be, under more legal scrutiny then an average person. That’s the price of power.

          • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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            Your family should not be under more scrutiny than anybody else and they should not be a target of your political enemies.

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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        If Kamala had won, Hunter would not have been pardoned.

        Biden pardoned him because of all the bullshit pardons Trump is talking about.

        “You know what, fine, fuck it, Hunter gets a pardon.”

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          So your version is like this?

          Biden:

          I’m tired of rich privileged people never being held accountable, I’ll show them by not allowing my rich privileged son to be held accountable! Now the wealthy from either party isn’t being held accountable, which is obviously going to be celebrated by the poor’s because both groups of rich and powerful people are unaccountable!

          Because that just sounds unbelievable , so I don’t think that’s what you meant

          But man, I can’t think of a single other option.

          Like, if it’s to just rub in republicans faces…

          They’d hate it more if we dont give them the 42 open federal judicial seats than Bidens son

          Or…

          Crazy thought, Biden could do both?

          Instead of only saving his son who is clearly and literally self admittedly guilty?

          The Biden are never going to love you man. They’ll never know you’re name, they’ll never lose a second of sleep over your troubles.

          Trump won’t either to be fair, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend your time defending. A different group of wealthy oligarchs who aren’t subject to the same rules as you and me.

            • UsernameHere@lemmy.world
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              This is the obvious answer. Biden treated the situation as if his son would be treated the same as any other citizen. Instead they threw the book at him because he was the presidents son.

              Why trust the system that lets Trump off the hook.

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              Biden doesnt exactly have a reputation of being keen on actual justice. Just demagogery, racism, and bribe taking disguised as justice. Are there worse crimes than genocide? – all for some campaign contributions.

              Did he not spend his entire senate career beating a drum about being touch on crime, ito the right of republicans, imprisoning two generations of minority americans on flimsy no-victim crimes? Did he not call all the worst racists on the republican side his close friends? Didnt he campaign for them against democrats?

            • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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              Seems more likely that it’s a preemptive guard against the retribution Trump has been loudly promising. When the next president vows to enact revenge on his political enemies, and your son has been branded a political enemy, you do what you can to try to prevent relatively minor offenses from becoming something more theatrical.

    • Dagrothus@reddthat.com
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      A felon that had to be given immunity by the supreme court he picked himself in order to stay out of prison long enough for the richest man in the world to get him elected.

      You can’t make this shit up

    • Rimu@piefed.social
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      Exactly. Trump is about to pardon dozens/hundreds of treasonous terrorists (Jan 6th).

      • stoy@lemmy.zip
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        Honestly, I doubt he will pardon more than a small number people, most of the Jan6ers have nothing that will gain Trump if they are pardoned, and they have shown to be dangerous towards government and authority, these are not people an authoritarian government will want on the streets.

        Past actions matter far, far less than future potential gains.

        Trump will be back in office, he has won, he doesn’t need the Jan6ers anymore.

        I am certain that he will pardon a few, to make it seem like he/the republicans care, but the majority will probably stay locked up.

      • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
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        You’re operating on Republican standards of integrity whether you want to or not, because nothing fucking matters anymore. That’s just the hand you’ve been dealt.

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    Honestly? With the absolute thought crime aspect and the way the plea deal was handled, I don’t blame him one bit. There’s no public interest in locking up Hunter Biden.

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      There’s no public interest in locking a lot of people up, yet they still do.

      Rules should be applied equally, regardless of who you or your parents are.

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      Yeah, I don’t see any public interest involved at all when it comes to the issue of presidents using their power to get their relatives off jail time. I don’t think it undermines the sense of justice and equality that all citizens are supposed to have if the “first among equal citizens” can get their crackhead middle ages son off of already lenient legal consequences for actions that others are serving hard time for. Not at all a conspicuous legal hole that undermines the concept of the rule of law, and definitely not open to abuse.

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        That was part of the problem. The judge bowed to political pressure and rejected a completely normal plea deal to throw the book at the guy instead.

        If you ask me the pardon power isn’t used nearly enough.

        • BMTea@lemmy.world
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          Judges do that all the time. Hunter Biden was the 50+ year old son of one of the most powerful people in the country. Not some 22 year old street kid from a poor district.

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              They absolutely should.

              This isn’t some small point, either. Your view validates mandatory minimum sentencing and other systemically racist structures.

              Judges should make judgments. It’s literally the job title. A judge is someone you’re supposed to be able to trust to take into account all the human stuff and make decisions based off it.

              You want a judge that makes the judgment call that a plea deal is okay? Fine.

              You want a judge that throws away a plea deal they think is too light? Fine.

              You want a judge that adds up minimum sentences and could be replaced by a computer? Not fine.

              • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                Yeah sure. And how many scandals are we seeing about judges? It’s obviously not fine. This isn’t the 1800’s any more and we need to stop giving someone that much power. If a plea deal is done between the state and a defendant them the judge’s only role should be to make sure the defendant isn’t being taken advantage of. The state hardly needs protection here and the precedent for political interference in the judicial system is really not okay.

                Life isn’t a Hollywood movie where the judge is some all knowing good intentioned white guy that always does the right thing. Our founding fathers understood this, that’s why they gave us what protections they could. Now over 200 years later we’ve forgotten it all. We even have debtor’s prison back, specifically with the help of the people you say are supposed to uphold trust in law and order.

                At this point I would rather a computer than read one more Pro Publica story about a judge taking kickbacks to send kids to torture camps.

                • Count042@lemmy.ml
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                  You’re complaining about corruption in elected positions, and want to replace it by giving more power to the DA, or to remove the human aspect and give everything over a computer assigning mandatory minimums that only ever seem to go up.

                  If you have a problem with corruption, you fight the corruption. You don’t consolidate power into even fewer hands, with no mercy(not that there is much of that in the first place.)

                  The founding fathers were a bunch of rich white dudes, that almost to a one, fail every moral standard today. Some of them would and were considered assholes in their own time. Acting like they were incredibly thoughtful/wise elder statesmen is the only Hollywood trope either one of us has brought up. Part of the protections they did try and put into place was to spread power out, and make those positions ones that elected. You know, the stuff you want to remove?

            • BMTea@lemmy.world
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              Actually judges can and should call foul on plea deals that are poorly worded so as to allow future violations of tax law.

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                A violation is a violation. A plea deal can’t make a future act not a crime. That’s completely nonsense.

    • kreskin@lemmy.world
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      There’s no public interest in locking up Hunter Biden.

      Nonsense. Theres a massive public interest in a privileged member of the political elite being held to the same legal standards and to the same due process as you and me.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        That’s not the same legal standards. Tax charges that the IRS bends over backwards not to use and gun charges that are literally thought crime and also very rarely used.

        This was the witch hunt the GOP cries wolf about. The original thing they were looking for was Ukrainian money deals.

        For anyone else the IRS would have had a payment plan and the gun charges would have been a plea deal. But we go from politically motivated investigation to politically motivated judge rejecting the plea deal

        What about this is the same due process we would have?

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    So this is his big Grand exit? He could do so much on the way out the door for the country but instead the senile old fuck only cares about his damn kid.

  • Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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    Donald Trump has a hitlist. Hunter is on that list. I don’t think he deserves the pardon, but he needs it. Republicans will crucify him given the chance. I don’t really want to see Republicans holding his head up on a pike for all to see, as much as they’d love that.

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      If you switch some of those names around it’s sounds just like four years ago when Trump was leaving office…

      You get that, right?

      Like, Hunter was a crackhead that lied to get a gun, and then they abandoned the gun in a trashcan like, right next to a school, and then said when they went back for it, someone had taken it

      Hunter is not some innocent child. He’s a crackhead in his 50s who has lived a life of luxury free of consequences due to political connections.

      Don’t forget Biden wrote the 92 crime bill, he’s ruined innumerable lives of actual children because of that.

      If you can’t see the hypocrisy, you probably don’t understand why 1/3 of voters dont vote.

      • BMTea@lemmy.world
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        No. They quite literally cannot get that. They will find a way to contort themselves into believing that Biden is a responsible dignified statesman who is forced into every stupid, evil or corrupt thing he does, up to and including genocide.

      • Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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        His situation is over publicized, so he can’t have a fair case. I agree. He sounds like a piece of shit. There’s a reason there’s not supposed to be cameras in court, though.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          His situation is over publicized

          His situation is published

          His auto biography provides the whole story, there’s hard evidence to line up when the gun was bought, rehab records for drug use…

          He’s guilty. I dont think he’s even tried to deny it…

          And you realize your logic could be applied to people like Rudy, Mike Pillow, and trump himself?

          You’re inventing reasons why Hunter should escape consequences, but the thing is anything you come up with, can be applied to republicans in the exact same way.

          Seriously. Before you try to excuse his behavior, replace it with “Don Jr” and think about if you still think it’s a good reason.

          Maybe you can? Maybe your consistent on anyone born into the ruling wealthy class gets zero consequences. But lots more people only want it for their “team”.

          So I’m hoping changing the name helps you understand.

          • You’ve lost sight of why Biden pardoned Hunter. It had nothing at all to do with the merits of case of the interests of criminal justice. It had to do with preserving the institutions of democracy for the immediate years to come.

            You can’t “both sides” this one.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              r. It had nothing at all to do with the merits of case of the interests of criminal justice. It had to do with preserving the institutions of democracy for the immediate years to come.

              You think to do that, Biden’s one and only course of action was pardoning his soon, and now it’s mission fucking accomplished?

      • It’s a national security risk to give custody of the former president’s son to Donald Trump.

        The idea right now is to give Trump less avenues of control over institutions of democracy, and that includes a former law abiding president, his pulpit, and his classified knowledge.

        Can you see that?

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      I am pretty sure that Trump would have had that man killed in prison. In my books his dad did the right thing, fuck the optics.

      • I just made a post commenting that it’s a national security risk to have a former president’s family member incarcerated or under prosecution by the DoJ as Trump is planning to run it. He flat out said he’s planning to use the DoJ to incarcerate political rivals.

        It’s like

        “Hey, Joe, we have your son. You need to tell me / support me / help me with [undermining institutions of democracy and our allies], or else.”

        • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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          Looked through to find one of these takes near the top.

          That is a ridiculous idea.

          A doddering, old, ex-president that is known to be forgetful is somehow going to help Trump, the current sitting president?

          One step further: All the things above, but everyone Joe could talk to knows that his son is a political prisoner? Maybe we can add a footnote to this thought, too that questions why someone who got ran out of politics by his own party would care to meddle in the affairs of democratic institutions or those of our allies. (With the understanding that certain actions and certain conversations are violations of the Hatch act, which, under a vindictive DOJ, would see Joe in prison.)

          In this absolute farce where he’s emerging from his quiet sundown to try to engage with people about politics, does anyone see Joe as anything but a prisoner himself?
          Who would trust any words from him about anything other than Amtrak or ice cream?
          You’d have to be a complete fucking moron to think that scenario could play out. That’s the sort of dumb shit that happens on TV, and may be something that Trump tries, but is not something competent humans fall for.

          Today’s word of the day is: Specious.

          • “Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of Bill Barr, who never had the courage to do what everyone knows should have been done,” the former president wrote of U.S. Attorney David Weiss. “He gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence. Because of the two Democrat Senators in Delaware, they got to choose and/or approve him. Maybe the judge presiding will have the courage and intellect to break up this cesspool of crime. The collusion and corruption is beyond description. TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE!”

            https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-suggests-hunter-biden-death-penalty-1234786435/

            • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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              What I’m seeing is proof that Trump (rather, the Republican Party) failed to use the justice department to go after Hunter for tax evasion.

              And while I do see that Trump clearly wanted to use the DOJ vindictively, and that he apparently wanted to put Hunter to death over tax evasion, I’m not seeing anything to support your claim that Trump would use the DOJ to manipulate Joe.

              So what point are you trying to make here? That if Trump wants to manipulate Joe, leading off by killing Hunter is his go-to? Removing your leverage in the opening play is kind of a shit strategy, if I’m honest.
              Are you trying to imply some other claim and hope I’ll validate it in the absence of an actual argument from you?
              You’re just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something will stick.

              Is the above an accurate read of why you shared that article on two separate comments I made? Comments submitted without elaboration or clarifying why you think they support the statements you’ve made.

              Look — Trump is a dangerous old fool, and he will do awful things. Possibly, even awful things that are vaguely similar to what you are describing. But your arguments, reasoning, and supporting ‘evidence’ aren’t good. If you’re going to be argumentative, insulting, and present conspiracy theories online, at least do it well.

              • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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                Appreciate your comment. Nobody can prove something that is a matter of intuition. Can’t prove what anyone might do in the future.

                You agree, at a minimum, with me that there are clear conflicts of interest.

                That fact alone is a national security risk.

                People often lose their security clearance if they go into debt or get arrested. It’s not because of the risk they are bad with money or even that they’ve committed a crime. It’s because they are in a position where they are vulnerable to being exploited.

                And it’s a sliding scale. The more someone knows, or the more control someone might wield, there is increasingly less tolerance in the national security world for possible avenues of exploitation.

                Ex presidents are loose ends on the nation’s closest secrets, right? Also, potentially very powerful, even after their terms end, right?

                Trump absolutely has a history of demanding loyalty and trading favors. “Hey, Joe, as you know, we have your son, Hunter, and we’re holding him over there, and we have some of the boys watching him, and we were wondering if you wouldn’t come out and publically say US weapons are prolonging the war in Europe, and that we need to leave well enough alone…”

                We have literally heard that rhetoric from Trump with our own ears.

                Are you the same person that was trying to both sides this? You can’t compare turning over the former president’s criminal kid to a bunch of alt right trumpists and Russian loyalists with turning over the ex president’s criminal kid to lib dems, Merrick Garland and Jim Comey types. They bag this dude’s shit when he travels. You think they were going to let him let Trump keep his kid?

                Edit: : we will see after The noise dies down and insiders start spilling the beans about what happened in the room. My confidence level that the national security conflict of interest was a principal consideration is very high.

                • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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                  It seems like you’ve been focusing a lot on opportunity in your statements, but you also have to consider motive.

                  After Biden’s term is up, the Republican Party is being handed full control of the U.S. government. They have the presidency, the house, and the senate. They simply do not need Biden.

                  Regarding Ukraine, Trump can just not send any more aid, and (illegally) stop any in-progress aid while calling it an official presidential act.

                  I think Trump is really weak. The instances of him taking advantage of other people relate to money, sex, power, and his ego. (In a topical sense - I don’t think he’s smart enough to get ego fulfillment from things like achieving policy goals.) He doesn’t engage in a hard push for matters of statecraft or policy goals. He leaves that to the sycophants around him. Surely they could conceive of such an idea, but even if they did try to put something like that in motion, do you think he would grant anyone in his circle enough power to carry out such a plan? And if they could carry out such a plan, I just don’t see Trump’s ego accepting help from ‘the competition’, let alone other nations viewing a Democratic-led Trump envoy with anything but suspicion. Other countries have intelligence services. They’ll be able to figure out why someone pulls a policy 180, and they’ll do whatever is best for their country.

                  And to your point about Trump demanding loyalty - absolutely. But from his sycophants. He doesn’t need any particular democrat to be a sycophant. I think, honestly, he’s a lazy slob who is so used to money and power carrying water for him that he just finds the next person. He doesn’t have the grit to be malevolent unless it’s for money, sex, power, or his ego.

                  And, for the record, I am not the ‘both sides’ person. I have no idea what that line of thought is about. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t make that argument because I don’t think Trump loves his male children enough to care what happens to them. I believe he’d only care if something affected his public image.

  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.worldOP
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    Which, no fuck you Biden for pardoning your son. He committed multiple crimes, including gun laws and convicted in a fair trial.

    Fuck you for proving that there is a two tier Justice system.

    Fuck you for undermining gun control.

    Fuck you for giving yet another example that Democrats are no better than Republicans.

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        Yeah, I also agree but as you can see, people still treat this crap as a team sport instead of treating everyone equally under the law.

        I mean hell, how are we supposed to say fuck the trump family for all their shady, illegal behavior with taxes and prosecute them when Democrats are pardoning a tax evader and making excuses when he did do those things regardless of political bullshit.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        He also made a huge deal for months(years even?) about how he wasn’t going to interfere…

        It was obviously billshit and he’d have done this even if Kamala won. But if Bidens fans cared about facts or logic, they wouldn’t be fans of Biden.

        They just latched onto anyone they were told to who wasn’t named trump

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            Not really…

            trump is obviously worse. But when Trump does dumb shit everyone around me is also complaining

            When it’s Biden doing dumb shit, if I mentioned it I’d get called a trump supporter for having higher standards.

            When a republican is in office people pay attention and care. Which helps the next election.

            But when Dem voters spend four years trying to bring up ways Biden can be better, and they’re told “if you’re not loyal, you’re a Trumper” it just seems like depressed Dem turnout shouldn’t be surprising.

            Hell, Biden said Black people who weren’t 100% sure they were going to vote for him, maybe weren’t Black. Which full circle, is why we never fucking heard from him

            It wasn’t a good thing, it’s because he wasn’t fit for the job and when he opened his mouth he said all the wrong things.

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                When it’s Biden doing dumb shit, if I mentioned it I’d get called a trump supporter for having higher standards.

                If you haven’t seen that over the last four years…

                Well, sometimes things seem obvious to one person, while another has no clue what’s going.

                The problem is when that person insists things that conclusively can be proven didn’t happen, because they weren’t paying attention.

                Ironically enough, you’re proving my point.

                When a republican is in office people pay attention and care. Which helps the next election.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            If Kamala had won, Hunter being in the custody of the DOJ wouldn’t be a national security risk

            Just what the actual fuck does that even mean?

      • What Joe isn’t saying is that he’s not going to hand his son over to Trump to be used for ransom and influence over Biden as a former president and that this has fuckalll to do with the merits of the case or interests of criminal justice.

    • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      To be fair, I doubt he’d pardon hunter if Kalama won. Can you imagine what would happen to Hunter with DoJ under trump admin? Yes he did crimes, but crimes need to have proportional punishment, which I doubt trump admin is gonna be fair about it.

      Feeding your son to a felon president is a bad idea.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        To be fair, I doubt he’d pardon hunter if Kalama won.

        Why?

        He said he wouldn’t even if Trump won…

        He was going to do it regardless.

        Feeding your son to a felon president is a bad idea.

        What about everyone gun owner who uses cannabis in a state that legalized cannabis?

        Unfortunately crack and weed use would be treated the same under federal law.

        Biden can fix that be de-classifying marijuana and help millions of Americans.

        But he’s only saving one crackhead.

        • Count042@lemmy.ml
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          It’s really sad to me that the Portland community is moderated by a center right liberal.

            • Count042@lemmy.ml
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              Yeah, cause there is anyone left wing on the city council and like we haven’t had a succession of center right Democrats that used to be republicans as mayors.

              The city is the way it is under leadership that aligns with your politics.

              The city we have is the city we get if you get everything you want politically. It’s literally your mess.

      • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.worldOP
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        Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. He also was set to be sentenced on Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.

        Trump’s absolutely screwed up Justice department would have had nothing to do with the sentencing.

        • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          Did you know, unlike a Jury’s “non-guilty” verdict, court sentencing can be appealed?

          If the prosecution believes the sentence to be too light, they can appeal and request a heavier sentence.

          Also, there are many more ways a weaponized DoJ can mess with its prisoners. if epstein got killed under trump admin, who’s to say it can’t happen to others, regardless of if they are as terrible as epstein or not.

          • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.worldOP
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            Oh for fucks sake, you think that Epstein was killed by the Trump admin? Get out of here with that conspiracy theory BS.

            And no a prosecutor can’t just say “oh it’s to light” and a judge just grants it. There had to be legal basis behind it like sentencing below the minimum mandated sentence and even the most shitty judges aren’t looking to undermine the other judges and the system unlike what is happening here.

            But whatever, you can all be go sports team with this and downvote away but you’re just proving what regular Americans think, even if it’s not, that both sides are the same with this.

        • This wasn’t because of the merits of the case or the interests of justice. This was a national security move. A Russian agent is taking over the DOJ. We’re not going to give him the former president’s son.

          Lol.

    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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      https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/legal-experts-say-charges-hunter-biden-are-rarely-brought-rcna90191

      “It insults the intelligence of the American people to compare misdemeanor tax charges to a scheme to steal Top Secret documents and obstruct justice when the government asked for them back,” he tweeted, comparing the charges against Hunter Biden to the recent federal indictment against former President Donald Trump. “If anything, Hunter Biden was treated harshly — those crimes are rarely charged.”

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        Tax charges?

        He was a crackhead that illegally bought a gun after lying on federal forms and then abandoned the gun in a trash can where it was gone by the time his wife found it…

        Now, I’m not a CPA, but how is that a “tax charge”?

        If anything, Hunter Biden was treated harshly — those crimes are rarely charged.”

        I do appreciate that quote literally using Trump’s own excuse for tax fraud tho…

        But you should but an /s or something or people will think you actually believe what the quote claims.

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          The gun indictment was revealed as part of his tax investigation.

          Kinda like when they investigated Clinton for Whitewater and found out he lied about a blowjob.

          In both cases, the crimes are rarely prosecuted. The only reason they were prosecuted was because Clinton is Clinton and Hunter is Hunter.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            The reason the gun charges are rarely prosecuted is most people aren’t dumb enough to admit it in an autobiography and do book tours talking about and verify you did in fact break federal gun laws…

            Most people wouldnt do that because they’re afraid of prison.

            Hunter Biden wasnt, even though his dad promised not to pardon him and that “no one is above the law”

            And now he’s pardoned. Either Biden was always going to do this and lied to us, or the US president just got punked by his adult son in a way I thought only Netenyahu could punk him.

            I’m honestly not sure which would be worse.

            Which do you think happend?

            1. Biden lied and was always going to do this

            2. A geriatric man just got manipulated by his adult crackhead son

            3. Mystery answer you havent came up with yet

            Because it’s hard to act like it’s because of the charges being bullshit now when they’re the same charges as when Biden said he was staying out of it.

            The only thing that changed is Joe and Hunter both expected Joe’s DOJ to let Hunter off

            • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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              1. Biden was willing to let the charges stand right up until Trump got elected and started talking about how he was going to pardon everyone from 1/6 onward.

              “Oh, so he’s going to abuse pardon power? Fine, fuck it, Hunter gets a pardon.”

              • Close but missed it.

                Biden was willing until Trump won because with Trump running the DOJ, letting the DOJ have custody of Biden’s son is a massive national security risk.

                That was never going to happen.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

      Lying on an ATF Form 4473 is almost never prosecuted because much of the language is wishy-washy. Ever filled one out?

      The odds of being charged for lying on the form are virtually nonexistent. In the 2019 fiscal year, when Hunter Biden purchased his gun, federal prosecutors received 478 referrals for lying on Form 4473 — and filed just 298 cases. The numbers were roughly similar for fiscal 2020. At issue is when Biden answered “no” on the question that asks about unlawful drug use and addiction when purchasing a gun.

      https://www.ncja.org/crimeandjusticenews/few-prosecutions-for-lying-on-atf-gun-purchase-form

      How’s that moral high horse ride for ya? Winning any elections? No?

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        How many others wrote an autobiography confessing to the crimes though?

        The reason gun laws are so unenforceable, is you have to be a complete moron and confess or you won’t lose a trial

        Hunter didn’t just confess, he put it in a book and sold it, then did press tours admitting to it

        He knew it was illegal, he knew the reason others don’t get caught is they dont admit to it

        But Hunter believed he was above the law despite his dad saying the opposite.

        And at the end of the day the 50+ year old crackhead has a former grasp on reality than the US president.

        When Biden said :

        No one is above the law

        We should have demanded he step down immediately, no sane person in America believes that shit. Either he was lying (again) or he’s that far gone.

    • Tinidril@midwest.social
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      and convicted in a fair trial.

      To be fair, that’s kinda just what pardons are for.

      I almost want to give Hunter a break because he never would have even been charged if his dad wasn’t President. Then I remember how he misused his father’s status for personal gain. I figure that takes the first issue off the table.

    • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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      My hope of hopes is that this triggers a challenge and redefinition (and limitation) of presidential pardon powers.

      Buuuutt… I am not confident things would go in any way toward that direction. Probably the opposite. I can imagine it being redefined to some legally egregious bullshit, as is the custom of these times.
      Trump is gonna wind up with a stamp that reads “Presidential Pardon” and uses it with the abandon of a 3-year-old with a sticker book. He’s going to have a line of donors, stamping foreheads like it’s his own Ash Wednesday.

      • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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        Braindead take of the day.

        Trump plans to wield the DOJ as a weapon.

        You want to give custody of the former president’s son to Trump’s DOJ?

        It’ll be another perfect phone call.

        “Hey, Joe, we have your son…”

        This has fuck all to do with the merits of the case or the interests of justice. This is a national security move.

        It would be a reckless dereliction of loyalty to the country for Biden not to issue this pardon, given what it very likely to come.

        • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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          I have so many thoughts.

          Well, first - I posted this yesterday, so it can’t possibly be the brain dead take of the day.

          And second, my comment is a sardonic statement that discusses the need for reform of how the U.S. does presidential pardons. It pivots to imply the Supreme Court will do the exact wrong thing if someone sued about this, and implies Trump will imitate the Catholic Church, re: forgiving sins. It makes no mention of the DOJ, nor my thoughts of how Trump plans to use it, or even whether I think this pardon is valid.
          So, if you’re going to incorrectly insult me, could you at least stay on topic?

          But, but isn’t Hunter an example of Trump weaponizing the DOJ?
          No, it is fucking not. It is an example of the Republican Party weaponizing the media and grabbing any lever they can get their hands on, be it congressional investigations or friendly DA’s, to create a primetime cable TV media circus in much the same fashion they weaponized the media against Hillary before Trump had political aspirations, and even against her husband in the 90’s. If it was merely the DOJ being weaponized, Hunter Biden’s dick pics wouldn’t have been shown to congress. The DOJ is secondary. If the DOJ was primary, we’d never hear about the trial, and it wouldn’t go on for years in full view of the press.
          So, no. But it’s close enough that if you didn’t lead with an insult, I’d just shrug it off.

          And what would Trump need with Biden so much that keeping his son as a political prisoner would come in handy?
          Joe is out of politics. I’m pretty sure most people forgot he was president until yesterday. Yeah, yeah, currently at the wheel, but after he gets on that Amtrak in January, he’s out. I honestly don’t know how he could be of any help or support to the republicans. Maybe they could put him on stage as a set piece somewhere, but then he’s just a sad old man that reminds everyone that the Republican Party will throw your kid in jail, but we already fucking knew that because of the migrant kids in dog kennels.

          And third - while I don’t disagree that the DOJ will be used punitively, you don’t seem like the kind of person I’d publicly agree with.
          You lead with an insult because you can’t interact with humans normally. Following, what’s the point of the insult? Is there merit to it? Do you prove that whatever you think you read was “the braindead [sic] take” of yesterday? It looks like you switch topics and talk about something I didn’t discuss.
          Which really seems more like you just have thoughts you want to share and cannot find an appropriate way to bring them up.

          Fuck, dude. If you’re going to try to fight the good fight, could you do better in how you go about it?

          Finally.

          You’ll note I’ve not expressed thoughts about Hunter. Honestly, I don’t have clear thoughts on the matter. I think we should uphold rule of law. But I also think that’s bullshit given how inequitably the law is applied. I think that Hunter is a victim. Lots of parts of his story seem very much like other forces were involved than only his own bad choices. And I wouldn’t want Hunter in prison for a crime that rarely sees prison.
          My ‘best’ thought about Hunter right now is that I think Joe should have waited until sentencing to see if the punishment was in line with other convictions of this type. If it was, then let the skewed and politicized rule of law prevail, and if it’s not, then step in.

          Irrespective of this news story, but perhaps because of it, we may see a legal review of presidential pardon powers., and I welcome that.
          Which is what the entirety of my first comment was about. Pardon powers are yet another area of the U.S. government that mostly runs on the honor system, and that is clearly not adequate anymore, lest we see a scenario as heinous as the joke scenario I outlined.

          No one has any fucking nuance anymore, and must always “win” everything at any cost, up to and including completely disregarding morals and legal conventions, and that’s why every law, every email, and every online comment has to be a damned novel, full of definitions, trapping edge cases, and strict prognostications, because someone, somewhere, has got to be ‘that guy’ and ruin the fun.

    • traches@sh.itjust.works
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      Liberal here, there is definitely a 2 tiered justice system in the US what are you even talking about

      Our disagreement is over the idea that somehow the billionaire with an army of lawyers, who appointed half the judges his cases are in front of, and has been given every conceivable affordance and courtesy, is anywhere other than the top of the privileged tier.

  • Squorlple@lemmy.world
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    Democrats aren’t exactly being a role model right now, but a lot of them are probably covering the asses of their own since Republicans are so blind by fascistic rage that they’re going to put a lot of innocent heads on pikes.

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      This thread reads like a satire of how Democrats are happy to sink lower and lower while using the GOP as an excuse.

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        Yeah. I’m willing to say when I see my far-preferred party doing something I consider unethical, but I also recognize their game theory and why the current circumstances would lead them to make myopic decisions in the interest of short-term survival and at the cost of long-term reputation and public perception.

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        Why do so many Biden supporter use the same slurs as trump supporters?

        I’m legitimately asking because it’s frighteningly common. And for some reason ever since 2016 the neoliberals all have supporters who act like Trump’s.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            I don’t think this will work, but I’ll give it a shot.

            Say someone says crack should be mandatory, pants are outlawed, and birds can only fly on Tuesdays.

            If someone explains how difficult it would be to enforce that birds only fly on Tuesdays, it does not mean that they also want mandatory crack and no pants for anyone.

            It just means the person picked one thing to talk about. Instead of attempting to explain multiple things at once.

            Does it make sense to you now?

    • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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      You almost have it.

      Let’s say they don’t pardon Hunter.

      Fast forward a couple months to another “perfect” Trump phone call.

      “Hey, Joe, we have your son. Here’s what you’re going to say / do / tell me…”

      • Squorlple@lemmy.world
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        Who or what is going to stop them from doing that anyway? It’s not like the rule of law will mean anything with all 3 branches under Republican majority control. The enforced disappearance and extortion that you’re implying isn’t going to be averted by a measly pardon given by what will become the opposition party. Pardoning Hunter is not guaranteed to yield any material exemption for him with the guard changing, but it does represent to the public that Democrats consider those who are close to them to be exempt from the rule of law when the law is applicable. It’s both bad optics and likely futile. Biden pardoned him on the slim chance Hunter can navigate past double jeopardy or whatever new undoing of foundational legal precedent the Republicans decide to unleash out of (generally misplaced) vindictiveness.

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    So his lame duck period is even more full-throated support for Israel and pardoning his own failson. He could, like, do anything at all that helps people. Any sort of progressive, popular idea that would actually benefit Americans. Hell, even if he failed it would do wonders for his legacy. He could try to do something, anything, to start making up for dragging down the entire party by refusing to drop out earlier, or allow for an actual primary. But nah. Pardons for Hunter.

  • cogitase@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    All the other cases where they sentenced someone with a federal gun charge for lying on the form were plea deals. ABC said they couldn’t find any instances of someone being charged and convicted on that charge alone. You can’t say this wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution when the charge has never been used that way before.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      Dem voters for about 20 years:

      We need regulations!

      Moderates:

      No, just enforce what we have! Stop asking for what we need!

      Also moderatess:

      Are you nuts?! We can’t enforce the rules when our side break them!!

  • kreskin@lemmy.world
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    Its not the first time dems look indistinguishable from republicans (who are fascists) on Joe’s watch, is it.

    Biden is a guy who participated in obvious war crimes that 88% of his party didnt support-- as a democrat… And imperiously ignored the key issues of the campaign. Of course he’s going to pardon his shitty d-bag lobbyist son on the way out the door. Biden has lowered the bar for his party, for democracy, and for the entire western world order straight through the floor and deep into bedrock. We’ll need some sort of engineering miracle to ever even raise the bar up to ground level, much less hold it any higher anytime soon.

    • zenitsu@sh.itjust.works
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      Most of the country clearly stated that they don’t give a fuck about the law. Why should Biden insist on crucifying his son on some cringe gun ownership violation, while the government gets stacked with criminals? and you’re going to equate this to republicans? with Trump pardoning all his scumbag cronies who committed crimes on his behalf? The criminal elect who tried to steal the 2020 election? Get the fuck out of here

      • kreskin@lemmy.world
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        Why should Biden insist on crucifying his son on some cringe gun ownership violation

        He’s not “crucifying his son”. His son is guilty of tax and gun crimes he clearly committed. If everyone lied on every government form, we couldnt have a country now could we.

        Get the fuck out of here

        Try to make me.

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          Good job ignoring most of my response while pretending you responded to anything of substance. Clown

  • With criminal Trump, having as he does zero respect for laws and legal norms, taking over the DOJ, and literally saying he is going to incarcerate his political enemies, it would be a national security risk for the former president’s family to be in federal custody or facing serious federal charges.

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      I agree. Since Biden believes that Trump is a fascist, and he didn’t do this for purely selfish reasons, I expect him to also issue a blanket pardon for all undocumented immigrants as he is granted the power two do under Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution. Otherwise, I’ll have choice but to believe that he is a corruot individual who is actually just saving his son from legal consequences of matters already resolved in court.

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    Liberals are partly to blame. Many workers in the South and Midwest lost their jobs, and liberals responded by looking down their noses at the “dumb country bumpkins” in the flyover states, where the so-called “basket of deplorables” live. They should listen to the educated elites. Democrats focus on social justice instead of jobs and the price of bread, leaving them out of touch with the common person.**

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      looking down their noses at the “dumb country bumpkins” in the flyover states

      Lemmy, every single day.

  • ATDA@lemmy.world
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    On on hand fuck Biden for betraying what little respect I had.

    But also rump’s bullshit all vanished.

    Fuck it.