When the American Founding FathersThe men generally thought to have played the most important role in creating the United States of America, by leading its military forces during the War of Independence or by writing the documents on which it is founded and still guide the country today. were writing a constitution for their new nation in 1787, they planned to give their new office of President of the United States roughly the same powers as the British constitutional monarchA hereditary head of state whose power is limited by a constitution and who primarily serves as a ceremonial figurehead. whom they had just rejected.

These included the power to pardon criminals, known as the royal prerogative of mercy.¹

What they could not foresee was that more than two centuries later, this apparently innocuousHarmless. power would be threatening the foundations of US democracy.

On Sunday, outgoing president Joe Biden pardoned his own son, Hunter, who was convicted earlier this year for charges over gun ownership and tax irregularities.²

The Bidens have long maintained that these charges were politically motivated, brought against Hunter to put pressure on his father and detract from the legal travails of Donald Trump.³

But that has not prevented a wave of criticism, even from his supporters.

Critics say his decision to pardon his own son opens the door to wider abuses of power by the incoming second Trump administration.

Trump has already said that he will pardon those who participated in the riots of January 2021, that aimed to overturn the election result.⁴

Many of those rioters have been locked up in the same prison wing. Experts say they have been radicalising each other.⁵ If they are released they will return to US society looking for revenge on their opponents.

Now it will be much harder for the Democrats to condemn that decision. Hunter Biden's pardon risks normalising the kind of self-interested politics that Trump thrives on.

Hunter's life has been complicated, marred by alcoholismAlcohol addiction. and drug abuse. And Joe Biden is devoted to his family. He is always surrounded by them, whether in the White House or in his home in Delaware. Little wonder he wants to spare his son more pain.

Yet he has also dedicated his life to the US political system, underpinned by the essential principle that the president's powers must be wielded only for the public good.

Should he betray the country that he has served for more than five decades to avoid seeing his already-broken son put behind bars for the rest of his own life?

In his shoes, wouldn't you?

Yes: Biden has always believed family comes first. And Hunter Biden's life has been one of tragedy. How could he look himself in the eye if he did not save his son from still more misery?

No: Biden has sold 335 million people down the river for the sake of a man who has already thrown away his life. History will judge the sentimental weakness of a president who failed in his life's mission.

Or... Although he would hate the comparison, Biden has never been so very different from Trump: a rough-hewn, entitled man who struggles to separate personal from public life. He was always destined to bury, not save, American democracy.