Sen. Joe Manchin is calling on President Joe Biden to pardon President-elect Donald Trump, saying that it would be a “lot more balanced” after his pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.
“I am just saying, wipe them out,” the West Virginia independent and former Democrat told CNN on Monday, reports the New York Post. “Why don’t you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges and make it, you know, it would have gone down a lot more balanced, if you will.”
Biden said he decided to issue a sweeping pardon for his son, covering the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 2, 2024, because he was being “selectively, and unfairly prosecuted.”
Earlier this year, the president’s son pleaded guilty to federal tax crimes and was convicted of federal gun charges.
Trump has also claimed that the criminal charges against him were politically motivated. He was charged with federal charges of mishandling classified documents and election interference in connection with the 2020 election, as well as state charges of interfering in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, and falsifying business records.
Special counsel Jack Smith has dropped the federal cases.
“The president has to be the president for the next four years, fighting all these criminal [cases] and all this other stuff’s coming after him,” said Manchin. “Just clean that slate up.”
Manchin further said Biden’s legacy has been made “difficult” by the pardon, considering the White House has insisted for two years that his son would not be pardoned.
Meanwhile, several of Manchin’s colleagues in the Senate, including Democrats, have criticized the decision to pardon Hunter Biden.
“A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said in an X post. “This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., wrote on X on Monday that Biden’s decision “put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said the pardon was “unwise,” even if “understandable” as the “action of a loving father.”
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told CNN that the pardon will backfire against Democrats while Trump is in office.
“I know that there was a real strong sentiment in, you know, wanting to protect Hunter Biden from unfair prosecution, but this is going to be used against us when we’re fighting the misuses that are coming from the Trump administration,” he said.
Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., further disagreed that Hunter Biden was being targeted politically, pointing out that the president’s son “committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
