WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to pardon some "working-class Americans" after drawing criticism for pardoning his own son, Hunter Biden.
"During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses," Jeffries said in a statement.
Biden, who leaves office on Jan. 20, for months had said he would not pardon his son, who was found guilty of lying about being addicted to illegal drugs while buying a gun and pleaded guilty to criminal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. The sweeping pardon also applied to any other crimes "he committed or may have committed" between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2024.
The president said he believed his son had been made the target of a politically motivated prosecution. Republicans including President-elect Donald Trump blasted the move, as did some Democrats who said it eroded trust in the judicial system.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter, additional reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone and Caitlin Webber)
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