WASHINGTON — As Democrats’ resentment of President Biden simmers over his decision to pardon his son Hunter, and what some have called his “selfish” choice to stay in the 2024 presidential race too long, top donors reportedly are threatening to withhold funding for his future presidential library.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win on Election Day, some on the left are pointing the finger of blame at the largely unpopular Biden, who is raising funds for his presidential library, which will likely be located in Delaware.
“If they had their s–t together, they would have been doing the work on this over the summer — right after he announced he was stepping aside,” a “well-wired Democrat” told Axios. “Now, it’s just too late. Hopefully they are rightsizing their expectations and budget!”
Another Democratic source told The Post that the sentiment “certainly tracks with how the party feels about him now and the legacy that will follow him.“
Dems even offered suggestions on how Biden could have made the pardon more palatable, according to the outlet, such as pardoning Trump, 78, at the same time for his conviction in a “hush money” case in New York or by including Hunter on a list “with dozens of people whose convictions appear to result from injustices.”
Biden, 82, stepped down from the 2024 ticket less than four months before Election Day, following internal pressure from senior congressional Democrats and donors to bow out after his mentally hazy June 27 debate performance against Trump.
But on Sunday, when the president announced that he would be pardoning his formerly troubled son of all crimes he may or may not have committed since 2014 — reversing repeated pledges not to — tensions came to a head in the Democratic Party.
A jury convicted Hunter, 54, in June on three felony charges related to his purchase of a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors alleged, he lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by claiming he was not using or addicted to drugs while he had an active crack cocaine habit. A sentencing hearing had been set for Dec. 12.
He also pleaded guilty — without inking a plea deal with the feds — in Los Angeles in September to a nine-count indictment, including three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses. His now-canceled sentencing had been scheduled for Dec. 16.
“Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns,” the Justice Department said at the time of his conviction.
A former Biden aide on Tuesday told The Post that the pardon “will be a stain on his legacy,” but added that they were “not surprised [by the decision] after we lost the election.
“It’s a shame that President Biden put his family and personal life above the country,” the former aide told The Post.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week that Biden intends to issue more pardons and clemencies “at the end of this term,” which is less than two months away.
Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (R-Calif.) are all on the shortlist, according to Politico.
