Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., panned President Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter Biden, suggesting Monday that lawmakers need to "revisit" the pardon power given to presidents by the Constitution.
Connolly made the remarks in an interview with CNN, reacting to Biden's "full and unconditional" pardon for his son, who was set to face two sentencing hearings this month for a felony gun conviction and a guilty plea to felony tax evasion.
"As a father myself, and as someone who knows Joe Biden, I can sympathize with his perspective," Connolly told CNN. "Having said that, what other father in America has power to pardon his son or daughter if they're convicted of a crime?
"I really think we have to revisit the pardon power in the Constitution. At the very least, we've got to circumscribe it so that you don't get to pardon relatives, even if you believe passionately that they're innocent or their cause is just."
The president and the White House asserted no less than 10 times since June 2023 that he would not pardon his son or commute any sentence he might receive.
Although Biden said the decision to reverse himself came over the weekend, NBC News reported he had been discussing a pardon with his closest aides since his son's gun conviction in June and to mislead the public. Two people told NBC News that "it was decided at the time that he would publicly say he would not pardon his son even though doing so remained on the table," according to the report.
Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced Dec. 12 on the federal gun conviction and Dec. 16 on the federal tax evasion charges he pleaded guilty to in September. Further, the president pardoned his son for any offenses he has "committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024."
Connolly told CNN that a constitutional amendment should be implemented to enumerate the limits of the presidential pardon. Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution states the president "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."
"I think we're probably going to have to amend the Constitution because the pardon power is so sweeping," he told Reuters. "I don't believe the pardon power should be as broad as it is."