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Biden Says He Has Pardoned His Son, Hunter

US President Joe Biden (L) hugs his son Hunter Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 24 July 2024. (EPA)
US President Joe Biden (L) hugs his son Hunter Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 24 July 2024. (EPA)
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Biden Says He Has Pardoned His Son, Hunter

US President Joe Biden (L) hugs his son Hunter Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 24 July 2024. (EPA)
US President Joe Biden (L) hugs his son Hunter Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 24 July 2024. (EPA)

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, a reversal after pledging to stay out of legal proceedings against the younger Biden who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.

"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the president said in a statement.

The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute sentences for Hunter, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump.

"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," Biden said in a statement released shortly before leaving for a trip to Africa.

The grant of clemency said Biden had granted "a full and unconditional" pardon to Hunter Biden for any offenses in a window from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.

Hunter Biden faced sentencing for the false statements and gun convictions this month. In September he pleaded guilty to federal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items. He was scheduled for sentencing in that case on Dec. 16.

"I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport," Hunter Biden said in a statement on Sunday, adding he had remained sober for more than five years.

"In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages ... I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering."

Republicans criticized the president's move.

"Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site, referring to those convicted for storming the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump claimed falsely that he had won the 2020 election.

"Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family's corrupt influence peddling activities," said Representative James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The president, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, said his opponents had sought to break Hunter with selective prosecution.

He said people were almost never brought to trial for felony charges for how they filled out a gun form, and said others who were late in paying taxes because of addiction but paid them back with interest and penalties, as his son had, typically received non-criminal resolutions to their cases.

"It is clear that Hunter was treated differently. The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election," Biden said. "In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me – and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

In August 2023, lawyers for Hunter Biden said prosecutors had reneged on a plea deal that would have resolved the tax and firearms charges. The president said in his statement on Sunday that the plea deal "would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter's cases."

Biden said he had made his decision to pardon over the weekend. The president, his wife, Jill Biden, and their family including Hunter, spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and returned to Washington on Saturday night.

"Here's the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further," Biden said.

"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision."

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World

With a Fatwa and Official Pledges, The Taliban Offer Implicit Reassurances to Pakistan

 Members of the Afghan police during a graduation ceremony on Thursday, in Jalalabad (EPA). 
 Members of the Afghan police during a graduation ceremony on Thursday, in Jalalabad (EPA). 
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With a Fatwa and Official Pledges, The Taliban Offer Implicit Reassurances to Pakistan

 Members of the Afghan police during a graduation ceremony on Thursday, in Jalalabad (EPA). 
 Members of the Afghan police during a graduation ceremony on Thursday, in Jalalabad (EPA). 

The Afghan Taliban government has stepped up its implicit reassurances to Pakistan, days after border clashes between the two countries, amid efforts to salvage a fragile ceasefire.

A gathering of more than one thousand Afghan clerics from across the country, attended by Interim Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund and other senior officials in Kabul, issued a political and jurisprudential statement (fatwa) on Wednesday, pledging that Afghan territory would not be used to harm any country and vowing to confront those who interfere in conflicts beyond Afghanistan’s borders.

Hours after the fatwa was issued, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi publicly reaffirmed his government’s commitment to its contents, in an attempt to contain tensions that escalated following attacks inside Pakistan attributed to militant groups, most notably the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan).

In the latest such attack, six Pakistani soldiers were killed on Tuesday when a security post was targeted in the Kurram area near the Afghan border. Islamabad has blamed the escalation of violence on militants using Afghan territory to plan cross-border attacks on its security forces. Kabul, however, rejects these accusations, insisting it has no operational ties to the Pakistani Taliban.

The statement, which was issued at the conclusion of the “Seminar on Defending and Protecting the Islamic System”, provided religious cover for the Kabul government’s position. It affirmed that the emirate “has taken upon itself the obligation that the land of Afghanistan not be used against any country,” stressing that this commitment “is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims.” It warned that anyone who violates this obligation “is considered disobedient and will be subject to the necessary measures.”

While emphasizing that “defending the sovereignty of the country is a religious duty,” the clerics’ statement simultaneously underscored that “all Muslims must refrain from using the land of Afghanistan to harm any other country... and must uphold the commitment undertaken by the Islamic Emirate.”

The statement also affirmed a ban on Afghans traveling abroad to participate in any military activity, declaring that anyone who does so “is in violation and disobedience,” and obligating the authorities to prevent such actions and take appropriate measures.

In addition, it called on Islamic countries to “maintain friendly and positive relations within the framework of brotherhood, to benefit one another, and to avoid division, discord, and conflict”, language widely interpreted as an attempt to de-escalate tensions with Pakistan.

By combining the religious fatwa with official statements and a strong official presence at the clerics’ gathering - which included, alongside the prime minister, the Chief Justice, the Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Minister of Higher Education, and other senior officials - the Afghan leadership appeared intent on delivering a dual religious and political pledge. This comes at a time of mounting pressure on Kabul to rein in cross-border militant groups and demonstrate its ability to maintain internal security.

Muttaqi’s remarks reinforced the scholars’ position, as he reiterated Afghanistan’s pledge not to allow its territory to be used against any country. In statements carried by official media, he said: “All of Afghanistan’s scholars have renewed their unified fatwa obligating the ummah to protect the Islamic system.”

He stressed that the leadership “has made a categorical commitment that Afghan soil will not be used to harm any individual or any state... This is the recommendation of the scholars, and obedience to it is obligatory for all Muslims.”

He added that the “scholars have made it clear to the ummah that if any Afghan violates the leadership’s instructions regarding military activities outside the country, the Islamic Emirate has the right to take action against him”, an implicit reference to Afghans joining the Pakistani Taliban.

The minister concluded by emphasizing the scholars’ call for “unity and the rejection of sedition,” saying that the Afghan nation “has, throughout its history, acted in accordance with the fatwas and guidance of its scholars, and will continue to do so today.”

Observers view the statements and the religious-political declaration as “part of a coordinated effort to contain Pakistani anger and to signal Kabul’s willingness to honor its security commitments,” following a series of attacks that reignited border confrontations between the two neighbors. The most recent incident involved an exchange of fire that killed four people last Friday.

 

 

World

North Korea's Kim Vows to Root Out 'Evil', Scolds Lazy Officials

The North Korean leader praised Pyongyang's soldiers fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
The North Korean leader praised Pyongyang's soldiers fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korea's Kim Vows to Root Out 'Evil', Scolds Lazy Officials

The North Korean leader praised Pyongyang's soldiers fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
The North Korean leader praised Pyongyang's soldiers fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to root out "evil" and scolded lazy officials while praising his troops fighting with Russia against Ukraine, state media said Friday, capping a major meeting of Pyongyang's top brass.

The three-day meeting of the regime's central committee discussed key policy issues as well as plans for a congress of its ruling party, expected in early 2026 -- North Korea's first in five years.

Wrapping up the meeting on Thursday, Kim condemned "the wrong ideological viewpoint and inactive and irresponsible work attitude" of some officials, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

He called on officials to have "greater confidence in and courage for the future of our cause and struggle".

State media did not offer specifics, though it did say the ruling party had revealed numerous recent "deviations" in discipline -- a euphemism for corruption.

The North Korean leader reserved praise for Pyongyang's soldiers fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia, of whom at least 600 have died and thousands more sustained wounds, according to South Korean estimates.

Their work, Kim said, "demonstrated to the world the prestige of our army and state as the ever-victorious army and genuine protector of international justice".

'Modern' armed forces

Analysts say Pyongyang is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy supplies from Russia in return for sending troops.

Kim's mention of the troops "signaled Pyongyang's intention to maintain that deployment", Ahn Chan-il, a researcher originally from North Korea, told AFP.

"North Korea is also highly likely to seek a role in post-war reconstruction in Russia once... the conflict ends," he added.

Kim also hailed efforts this year in "modernizing" the country's defenses in the face of great "global geopolitical and technological changes".

Pyongyang's central committee began meeting on Tuesday, the same day North Korea fired a salvo of artillery from a multiple rocket launcher system, which analysts say could strike the South.

Last week, South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung said he felt an apology was due to the North over his predecessor's alleged order to send drones and propaganda leaflets across the border.

Pyongyang has not responded to the overture from Lee, who has sought to mend fractured ties with the North.

And Friday's readout made no mention of South Korea or the United States, whose leader Donald Trump had hoped to meet Kim during a visit to Asia in October.

The pair -- who Trump once famously declared were "in love" -- last met in 2019 at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas after the US leader extended an invitation to Kim on Twitter.

But analysts now say that the North Korean leader, increasingly emboldened by his growing ties with Russia, had few good reasons to join the photo-op.

World

US, Japan Defense Chiefs Say China Harming Regional Peace

US and Japanese military aircraft held a joint exercise over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. Handout / Japan's Ministry of Defense/AFP
US and Japanese military aircraft held a joint exercise over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. Handout / Japan's Ministry of Defense/AFP
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US, Japan Defense Chiefs Say China Harming Regional Peace

US and Japanese military aircraft held a joint exercise over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. Handout / Japan's Ministry of Defense/AFP
US and Japanese military aircraft held a joint exercise over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. Handout / Japan's Ministry of Defense/AFP

Beijing's actions are "not conducive to regional peace", Japan's defense minister and US counterpart Pete Hegseth agreed during a call after Chinese aircraft locked radar on Japanese jets near Taiwan, Tokyo said Friday.

The December 6 radar incident came after comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan that infuriated China, AFP reported.

It was followed this week by Chinese-Russian air patrols around Japan.

Hegseth and Shinjiro Koizumi "exchanged candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident", the Japanese defense ministry said after the call.

They "expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability", the statement added.

Koizumi said on X he told Hegseth that China was "disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts" about the radar incident.

"However, Japan has made clear that it does not seek escalation and that we are responding calmly while making necessary rebuttals, and we are keeping the door open for dialogue," Koizumi added.

Hegseth's office said they had "discussed... China's military activities" among other issues including "Japan's efforts to increase its defense spending and strengthen its capabilities".

'Tactical exercises'

Takaichi had indicated on November 7 that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

Media reports on Friday reinforced suggestions that her comments in a parliamentary debate were unplanned and that she deviated from prepared remarks.

Last week, J-15 jets from China's Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft that had scrambled in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.

Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.

But China's foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Japan of sending the jets "to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and... maliciously hype up the situation".

On Tuesday two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Japan said.

Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response.

A day later, Japan and the United States air forces conducted their own joint air drills, Tokyo said.

The "tactical exercises" over the Sea of Japan involved two US B52 bombers, three Japanese F-35 fighter jets and three Japanese F-15s, Tokyo said.

South Korea said Tuesday that Russian and Chinese warplanes also entered its air defense zone, with Seoul also deploying fighter jets that same day.

Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that it had organized drills with Russia's military according to "annual cooperation plans".

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.