President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden is further bruising a party that was already reeling from blistering electoral losses, with a wave of Capitol Hill Democrats criticizing the move as counterproductive to their party's efforts toward rebuilding public trust in American institutions scorned by President-elect Trump.

While some Democrats extended a measure of sympathy, President Biden took heat on several fronts, with most who have spoken out indicating the move did more harm than good.

“President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is, as the action of a loving father, understandable — but as the action of our nation’s Chief Executive, unwise,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said on the social platform X.

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Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) posted that the pardon “was wrong,” while Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said it puts “personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.”

The president announced a “full and unconditional pardon” for his son on Sunday night, sending shockwaves throughout Washington. It marked a major reversal for the White House, which for months insisted the president would not pardon Hunter Biden or commute his sentence.

The president argued the litany of charges brought against the younger Biden were motivated by politics and the years-long scrutiny of him from Trump and other Republicans — complete with a winding impeachment probe and other lines of inquiry fueled by now-discredited informants.

Hunter Biden’s legal team, similarly, argued in a lengthy 52-page white paper released over the weekend that he faced tax and gun charges “that no one without the name ‘Biden’ would have faced.” He was set to be sentenced later this month on both charges of failing to........

© The Hill