Conservative media voices criticize Biden for Hunter pardon, mock liberal defense.

On Sunday, President Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter, and liberal media commentators largely defended the decision.

This year, the first son was found guilty of two federal charges: tax evasion in September and three felony gun charges in June, after falsifying a mandatory gun purchase form by claiming he was not using or addicted to drugs.

Recently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Biden would not pardon his son. However, on Sunday night, the White House announced that Biden had granted a pardon to Hunter for offenses against the U.S. that he "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.

After the announcement, several liberal media figures defended Biden's decision to break his promise to use the presidency solely for his family's benefit.

"Hunter Biden's pardon has sparked hypocritical outrage from the same movement that supports and celebrates a criminal vulgarian insurrection who pardons his criminal friends," wrote liberal columnist Wajahat Ali on Bluesky. "The movement's feigned outrage is nothing more than a small violin playing."

David Corn, a Mother Jones journalist and MSNBC analyst, stated on Bluesky that complaints about the Hunter Biden pardon will only be accepted if they are accompanied by complaints about the Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort pardons.

"When confronted with MAGA Republican criticisms of the Hunter Biden pardon, the appropriate response is 'f--- you,' as former Obama administration official and MSNBC columnist Brandon Friedman stated." He also advised against apologizing to bad-faith trolls, fascists, and norms police.

"New Rule: You must admit the Supreme Court pardoned Trump for a coup before complaining about Hunter Biden's pardon on my feed," Mueller, She Wrote posted to Bluesky.

Katie Phang, an MSNBC host, wrote on Bluesky that Hunter Biden's two criminal cases were political prosecutions aimed at attacking President Joe Biden. The DOJ pursued unprecedented charges after a high-pressure campaign by Trump and his surrogates.

On Sunday, Joyce Vance, an MSNBC legal analyst, defended Biden on a liberal network.

President Biden is exercising a power that he has the ability to exercise, and many presidents at the end of their term use the pardon power in ways that not everyone agrees with. Vance believes that this use of it may be acceptable to some people, but others may find it objectionable due to Biden's prior statement that he wouldn't use it in this way. However, Vance believes that this is not an abuse of power and that it is not an attempt to interfere with the smooth transfer of power.

Former CNN host Don Lemon also hit back at those criticizing Biden.

"Be careful not to come across as too self-righteous. This isn't about politics; it's about being a parent," he stated in a video. "Of course he'll pardon his child."

Some liberals reluctantly criticized the president's decision, however.

Anti-Trump attorney George Conway wrote on Bluesky that while the pardon is understandable, it is still objectionable.

Judd Legum, a progressive journalist, believes that if Joe Biden had intended to pardon Hunter, he should not have stated that he would not do so.

Philip Bump, a Washington Post columnist, wrote that all of these things can be true: Hunter Biden broke the law, traded on his last name to make money, and his actions were exploited and wildly exaggerated by unscrupulous Republicans in an effort to damage his father.

Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, wrote that "justifying bad behavior with the claim that Trump is worse is never a valid argument."

The speaker stated that Trump is terrible, which is why they oppose him. In fact, the worse Trump becomes, the more crucial it is to resist any behavior that resembles his conduct. Biden understands that it is wrong and has repeatedly pledged not to do it. However, this does not make him the same as Trump. It does not erase the corruption of Trump's current appointments. It is simply wrong, and we should speak out against it, lest we forget that right and wrong still exist and awareness of it is important in our President.

Biden decided not to grant a pardon to Hunter before and after he was convicted of gun charges during the summer.

"After Hunter was convicted, Biden stated, "I will abide by the jury's decision, and I won't do anything.""

Planet Chronicle' Greg Wehner and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this article.