At 11:45 am on Monday, President Joe Biden pardoned family members allegedly implicated in the influence-peddling corruption scandal, crushing any pretense of principle. The pardons were predictable, as Biden couldn’t resist the urge, just like the scorpion in an old fable who struck the frog during their river crossing, saying “I am sorry, but I couldn’t resist the urge. It’s in my nature.”
The Biden family has long been in a league of their own when it comes to corruption, from nepotism to influence peddling to illicit lobbying. The influence-peddling scandal involved millions of dollars generated from foreign sources in virtual plain view, including luxury hotel rooms, a diamond, a sports car, and massive payments called “loans.”
The sense of absolute impunity was due to the mainstream media’s protective shell around the family, refusing to pursue the scandal despite clear evidence of influence peddling. Reporters assured citizens that the Hunter Biden laptop was “Russian disinformation,” even after acknowledging it was authentic.
After Republicans in the House detailed millions in payments, the media claimed that there was no real scandal unless it was shown that Joe Biden received money directly. Even after evidence showed that Biden had repeatedly lied about not meeting with Hunter’s clients or not having knowledge of his foreign dealings, the media continued to protect him.
Biden’s pardon of his son and other family members was timed to avoid media scrutiny and questions, and was clearly an act of corruption. While he described it as an act of “conscience,” it was an almost mocking act that passed in Bidenworld as an honest moment.
The pardons were a stinging rebuke to the media, which had trusted Biden not to demean it further with such an unethical and disgraceful final act.