While a number of elected officials from Southern California dodged NBC Los Angeles’ questions, some California Democrats began to express their opinions. Conan Nolan reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.
After President Joe Biden broke his word and pardoned his son Hunter, Democrats in Washington D.C. and California were faced with uncomfortable questions, especially when it comes to possibly setting a precedent for future parsons by President-elect Donald Trump.
While a number of elected officials from Southern California dodged NBC Los Angeles’ questions, some California Democrats began to express their opinions on the controversial decision.
Adam Schiff, who is set to be sworn in Wednesday as a new U.S. senator representing the state of California, told USA Today that pardoning Hunter Biden was a “very ill-considered decision.”
“That precedent will almost certainly be abused by his successor, and he committed to not pardoning his son. He should have kept that,” Schiff said.
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Schiff had introduced legislation in 2018, granting congress access to all relative information of any presidential pardon, saying lawmakers should know if the president is issuing a pardon to obstruct justice.
Governor Gavin Newsom, a loyal support of Biden’s, called his decision to pardon his son “disappointing” but understandable.
“With everything the president and his family have been through, I completely understand the instinct to protect Hunter,” Newsom told Politico. “But I took the President at his word. I’m disappointed and can’t support the decision.”
Sen. Alex Padilla told MSNBC tried to explain the president’s sweeping pardon of his son into a more friendly context.
“I’m not sure if I would have announced what he did, but remember the reason we are talking about pardons is because of what we can expect in the next administration. He’s already signaled it,” Padilla said.
