1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my profound dismay over President Biden’s recent decision to issue a full and unconditional pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, just days before Hunter’s sentencing for federal gun and tax evasion charges. This action contradicts the president’s repeated assurances to the American people that he would not pardon his son under any circumstances, as affirmed in public statements by both President Biden and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The pardon is particularly troubling given the president’s explanation that the charges against Hunter stemmed from “raw politics” infecting the justice system. If the president believes the justice system has been compromised, it raises an urgent question: why has he not acted to address broader miscarriages of justice? For example, Leonard Peltier—a Native American activist who has been imprisoned for nearly half a century—remains behind bars despite widespread consensus, including from Amnesty International, that his trial was riddled with prosecutorial misconduct and violations of due process. President Biden’s pardon of his son, while continuing to ignore the plight of Leonard Peltier and others unjustly imprisoned, highlights a glaring double standard. It is further compounded by the president’s refusal to commute the sentences of those on federal death row, even as the death penalty has been discredited as racially biased and irreparably flawed. I urge you to publicly call out President Biden for this troubling decision and demand that he extend clemency to Leonard Peltier and all individuals on death row. Justice cannot be selective. If the president is willing to pardon his son on the grounds of fairness and political overreach, he must show the same compassion and commitment to justice for others who have been wronged by our legal system. Failing to address these issues undermines the very values of equality and justice that this nation purports to uphold, and YOU HAVE A DUTY TO CORRECT THESE WRONGS. I implore you to act now to ensure the principles of fairness are not reserved for the powerful and well-connected.