
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the wake of his controversial presidential pardoning of his own son, former Democratic Senator Joe Manchin says that Joe Biden must do the same for Donald Trump.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Manchin has called on Biden to pardon President-elect Donald Trump &#8220;for the sake of balance&#8221; — just one day after the current commander-in-chief issued one to his troubled son, Hunter Biden.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I am just saying, wipe them out,” Manchin, a former Democrat who is retiring from the upper chamber at the end of the year, told CNN.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“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,” the senator added.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Biden, 82, claimed he decided to issue the sweeping pardon to his 54-year-old son, who earlier this year was convicted of federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax crimes because Hunter was being &#8220;selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump, 78, has similarly claimed that four criminal cases against him — for allegedly mishandling classified documents, attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, falsifying business records, and interfering in Georgia&#8217;s 2020 presidential election — were politically motivated.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The president-elect was charged in all four cases — two federal and two state — after announcing his 2024 White House bid.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“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,” Manchin said. “Just clean that slate up.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The West Virginia senator added that the shocking pardon, which the White House repeatedly insisted over the past two years was not in the offing, made Biden’s legacy “difficult.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Several of Manchin’s Senate colleagues, including a number of Democrats, have slammed the president’s decision to pardon Hunter.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;President Biden&#8217;s decision put personal interest ahead of duty, and further erodes Americans&#8217; faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,&#8221; Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) wrote on X Monday.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said it was “wrong” for Biden to absolve his son’s crimes.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;A president&#8217;s family and allies shouldn&#8217;t get special treatment,&#8221; Peters said in an X post. &#8220;This was an improper use of power; it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) tweeted that the pardon was “unwise.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is, as the action of a loving father, understandable — but as the action of our nation’s Chief Executive, unwise,” Welch said.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Several House Democrats were also critical of the president.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“As a father, I get it. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) wrote on X.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) argued that the pardon would be used against Democrats in Trump’s second term.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I know that there was a real strong sentiment in, you know, wanting to protect Hunter Biden from unfair prosecution,” Ivey told CNN. “But this is going to be used against us when we’re fighting the misuses that are coming from the Trump administration.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In November 2023, Manchin announced he would not run for reelection to the Senate. In 2024, he left the Democratic Party to become an independent and later announced that he would not run for any office, even as some had speculated that he might run for governor of West Virginia.</p>

After Pardoning Hunter, Manchin Says Biden Now Needs to Pardon Trump
