Hunter Biden pardon: Hopefully, the first of many 

Who says politics can’t be fun? It was downright amusing, hearing the howls of outrage that followed President Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter.  

With a level of hypocrisy that would have made journalist H.L. Mencken chortle with glee, Republicans accused Biden of a “miscarriage of justice.” And even some Democrats blamed Biden for giving Donald Trump an excuse to abuse the pardon process himself — as if he needed one.  

As usual, they all miss the mark. What’s truly shocking about the Hunter Biden pardon is not that Biden did it, but that it stands alone. What about all the rest of the people whom Biden should also pardon? 

It’s true, as Biden wrote in his pardon statement, that “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.” But Hunter’s hardly the only one to be “singled out” by Donald Trump.  Much of his campaign was based on revenge and retribution, calling for his critics to be prosecuted and locked up.  

It’s a long list, and it starts at the very top. In 2025, Trump promised: “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden.” In September 2024, Trump said Vice President Kamala Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted” for not failing to secure the border. In August, he called for “public military tribunals” against former President Barack Obama, whom he’s accused of treason.

Other political figures whom Trump has “singled out” by name include former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), newly sworn-in Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and all members of the January 6 Special Committee. 

Trump’s also called for prosecuting anybody in the legal community who took part in criminal cases against him: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Manhattan Justice Arthur Engoron and, especially, Special Counsel Jack Smith, whom Trump has called “mentally deranged” and “a career criminal” who “should be thrown out of the country.” 

Leaders of the military didn’t escape, either. For more than three years, Trump has attacked former Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley, accusing him of treason, for which “the punishment would have been DEATH!” Meanwhile, Trump whisperers Elon Musk and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have renewed calls for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be prosecuted for “crimes against humanity.” 

And that’s only a partial list of Trump’s targets for payback in the form of political prosecution. And note well: What do all these people have in common? They have committed no crime! They have only dared to criticize Donald Trump, which to him is the greatest crime of all. 

That’s why President Biden should grant a preemptive pardon to every one Donald Trump has singled out for retribution. The whole list. Not for any crimes they’ve committed, but for phony crimes Trump may direct his Justice Department to charge them with. 

Would Biden be the first to issue a preemptive pardon? No way. Remember Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon? And in fact, the last president to grant a preemptive pardon was Donald Trump himself. In August 2017, he not only pardoned Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio for contempt of court, but for “any other offenses that he might be charged with.” 

If a preemptive pardon was good enough for Arpaio, it’s good enough for Pelosi, Cheney, Fauci and all the rest. 

Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”