President Joe Biden announced that he has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month on federal tax and gun convictions.
The move marked a shift as the president prepares to leave office to succeed Donald Trump.
"Today I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. It is a full and unconditional apology," the president said in a statement.
This official granting of clemency cannot be canceled by the newly elected President Donald Trump.
By forgiving his son, Joe Biden has reneged on a public promise he made repeatedly before and after withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race.
The president and his chief White House spokesman said unequivocally, including after Trump won the 2024 election, that he would not pardon Hunter Biden or commute his sentence.
The pardon means Hunter Biden will not be punished for his crimes and eliminates any chance of him being sent to prison, which was a possibility.
The judges overseeing his cases are likely to cancel sentencing hearings, which were scheduled for Dec. 12 on the gun case and Dec. 16 on the tax case.
The broadly crafted pardon grants clemency for tax and gun violations from his existing cases, plus any potential federal crimes Hunter Biden may have committed "between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024."