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Biden Pardons His Son, and the Press Begs Us to Pardon Their Coverage of His Pledges Not to Do So

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Dec 02, 2024
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

The Joe Biden announcement that he will be pardoning his son has caused all of the expected turmoil in the press.

Democratic Custodial Services – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • So those months of Biden denying he’d do this was…what, again?

With the announcement that President Biden will – to the surprise of very few honest thinkers – pardon his recidivist son, Hunter, the press realized they have been caught in a snare. They have not only reported on but also touted and promoted the concept that Joe Biden would just sit back and allow Hunter to be accountable for his actions, so his ultimately excusing all of the kid’s activities leaves them in a position of non-confrontational defense of the move.

Most galling is that Joe’s dictate is that Hunter is cleared of all wrongdoing for a staggering 11 years of criminal activity – including crimes he “may have committed,” meaning it is also a pro-active pardon for any future crimes that are discovered.

That this was done to basically also clear Biden family members, as well as Joseph himself, appears rather evident.

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Both Kinds of Standards – POLITICO

  • There must be a different definition for defying a sworn pledge.

At POLITICO, they display the challenges the press faces with this development from the White House. Considering they were among those reporting stridently Biden would not pardon his kid, the fact that he now will do so presents a challenge that needs to be deflected onto the opposing party... somehow.

Pounce of Prevention – POLITICO

  • The real crime here? Those in the GOP happened to notice!

It could be desperate laziness or lazy desperation – but whichever pertains, POLITICO went there in promoting the article in the above entry. Yes – seriously – they opted for the tired media trope in selling this story.

Pathological Media Amnesia – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • This clip is nine minutes long!

Over at Grabien, they were nice enough to compile a lengthy supercut of the media delivering the talking point that Joe Biden would never consider pardoning his son.

Just…damn.

Glossary Over Things – NBC NEWS / THE TODAY SHOW

  • The important thing is he didn’t lie!

In covering this new development, the ladies on “Today” looked over the stunning news and came to a conclusion: Biden performed an about-face, in a stunning reversal of his prior position on the matter. 

But did he lie about it? No, nope – definitely was not a lie…

News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • Uh, gang…GANG!! Isn’t this the type of “threat of violence” that always gets your knickers in a twist?!

One would think that a congressional staffer found bringing loaded gun clips into the Capitol would lead to all manner of fainting couch reactions and banner headlines. But when that staffer works for a Democrat – and one who has lobbied for gun control – then his bringing high-capacity magazines into the building is not the kind of thing you want to focus on.

And as Axios shows here, even when reporting on the matter, they go with a headline selection that steers focus away from the issue at hand.

Pulitzer Prize Nomination – THE INTERCEPT

  • You do realize this actually makes Kash sound normal, and thus better, correct?

Kash Patel being tabbed as the new head of the FBI under Donald Trump has all of the proper folks in The Swamp upset. Naturally, anyone named by Trump for his Cabinet is going to face unjust criticism in the press, but this lame attempt to scorch his character is woefully impotent.

Jacqueline Sweet, who plies her work under the banner of leftist news outlets such as Mother Jones, delivers this scathing detail provided by anonymous sources: About a quarter of a century ago, Patel would host parties in his home when his parents were out of town!

We want to mock this as a completely neutered exposé, but then we recall Brett Kavanaugh having his alleged debaucherous high school antics trotted out in a Senate confirmation hearing, so this will likely become fodder for the understimulated Democrats on the Hill.