The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg has defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, over felony gun and tax convictions.
“That’s what presidents do every time,” said Goldberg, 69, who pointed out that President-elect Donald Trump has previously handed out a long list of pardons to the likes of Michael Flynn and Roger Stone.
“They do it every time, they pardon somebody, so I’m not sure why the pearl-clutching is happening now,” Goldberg continued.
However, fellow panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin, 35, hit back at this idea, pointing out that she has an “immediate family member” who had been “in and out of jail” over addiction issues who was unable to get their record expunged in the hope of broadening their employment opportunities.
“Most Americans, if they face consequences for actions that they took, they’re going to have to face them, and nobody powerful and politically connected is going to come sweep in and save them,” Griffin argued. “This feeds the notion to a lot of this country that there’s simply a different set of rules for those in power.”
Griffin, a former member of Trump’s White House communications team, also criticized Biden for previously denying that he would pardon his only living son. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had also repeatedly denied the idea that Biden would pardon Hunter.
“I felt bad for Karine Jean-Pierre,” said Griffin. “This is why people don’t trust Washington, this is why they don’t trust politicians. I know a lot of us like Joe Biden, but I find it disappointing and bad for our institutions.”
Griffin went on to argue that the move would set a dangerous precedent, to which Goldberg replied: “It’s a precedent for all of us to open our eyes because we’ve elevated someone [Trump] who is in a similar situation who didn’t have a drug problem who knew what he was doing.
“I think Biden had no intentions of pardoning Hunter,” she added later. “I think the more stuff went down, he said, why am I busting my behind to stay straight and do this when no one else is doing it?”
Goldberg continued: “I can’t believe this is what’s freaking people out.”
When Biden announced his decision to pardon his son this weekend, he said in a statement: “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”