Where is Joe Biden, now that he’s put the final crooked nail in the coffin of his political career?

Oh, he’s on his way to AFRICA, and he took Karine Jean-Pierre with him. How freaking convenient.

There won’t be any – no press briefing for the next few days. Biden issued the pardon before jetting to Angola late tonight. KJP will take questions on Air Force 1 en route, but off-camera…. https://t.co/rdGpucifc0

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) December 2, 2024

Meanwhile, the press are lamely trying to explain that Hunter’s pardon is a good thing, while some are busy deleting their previous takes on how Joe Biden (SO honorable! SO decent!) would totally keep his word and never ever EVER pardon his derelict son.

Pardon? https://t.co/ECuSeyhfMC pic.twitter.com/YmO3CmgICJ

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 2, 2024

But while Joe Biden himself has skipped town, Jill Biden is still living her best White House life and enjoying her final Christmas there. And that means that she is the only Biden that the press can currently get to at the moment. After channeling her inner Hamas terrorist and using cute little kids as a human shield, Edith Wilson Jill Biden said this about Hunter’s pardon.

“Of course I support the pardon of my son.”

First lady Jill Biden reacted to Pres. Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on tax evasion and federal gun charges and was due for sentencing in December. https://t.co/f3HiPV3QIz pic.twitter.com/wUwoQTyCFX

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 2, 2024

That’s… not what she said before.

FLASHBACK: Jill Biden (@DrBiden) on why her husband Joe Biden will not pardon their son, Hunter Biden: "Joe and I both respect the judicial system and that's the bottom line." pic.twitter.com/SXR9FmAwQX

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) December 2, 2024

Let’s not pretend about what just happened here. Jill knew Hunter would get a pardon if he was convicted. She tried her best to make sure there wasn’t a conviction in the first place by going to the Delaware trial, but once the dominoes began to fall, the pardon was inevitable.

Meanwhile, Democrats – those who are hoping to have a political career after Joe Biden leaves office, are quickly starting to speak up. Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, for instance, is trying to make sure he doesn’t get tarred with this corruption brush.

Polis said late Sunday that while he understands President Biden’s position as a father to help his son, the president “put his family ahead of the country.”

“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Polis wrote on the social platform X. “When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation.”

“Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son,” Polis added.

Hilariously, Eric Holder – yes, Obama’s “wingman” – got into the replies to Polis to argue with him. Obviously, Holder has nothing to lose by defending Biden.

Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona also said that “Biden got it wrong” by pardoning Hunter. This is a politically perilous time for Democrats, and while some pundits, like Nate Silver, are shocked, SHOCKED!, that Joe Biden lied to them often and repeatedly (and we know this because NBC has reported that a pardon was being discussed in the White House IN JUNE after Hunter’s gun conviction, but the decision was made to deny that it was an option), others are in flat-out denial. And that makes for very entertaining TV. Also, you have to love how 54 year old Hunter Biden is just a poor, defenseless CHILD to the left.

Professor Jonathan Turley – who had a lot to say about the Hunter Biden crimes, trials, and convictions – now has this to say about Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden’s decision to use his presidential powers to pardon his own son will be a decision that lives in infamy in presidential politics. It is not just that the President used his constitutional powers to benefit his family. It is because the action culminates years of lying to the public about his knowledge and intentions in the influence-peddling scandal surrounding his family. Even among past scandals in the abuse of the pardon power, Biden has done lasting damage not just to his legacy but his office.

In the 2020 election and throughout his presidential term, Biden repeatedly lied to the American public with an ease and impunity that shocked even many political veterans in Washington. He was repeatedly asked if he knew about Hunter’s foreign dealings, including millions in alleged deals with Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, and other clients. President Biden lied and denied such knowledge. As I detailed in my testimony in the Biden impeachment hearing, he had repeated discussions of these dealings. He is even on tape discussing news stories on the dealings.

President Biden was also repeatedly asked if he met any of his son’s clients. He repeatedly lied. We have pictures and records of dinners and meetings with these clients. Hunter Biden was expressly thanked for his arranging such access to his father.

Then, the press repeatedly asked him whether he would pardon his son. The President was now running for reelection and again lied. He and the White House said over and over again that no such pardon would occur and was not being contemplated. That was also a lie. NBC is reporting that, while issuing these denials last June, there were discussions about the pardon.

The pardon power was written in absolute terms, and a president can even, in my view, pardon himself. However, what is constitutional is not necessarily ethical or right. This is one of the most disgraceful pardons even in the checkered history of presidential pardons. President Biden has lied to cover up a corruption scandal that reportedly brought his family millions in raw influence peddling. His portrayal of his son as a victim stands in sharp contrast to the sense of immunity and power conveyed by Hunter in his dealings.

What should be obvious now is that Joe Biden will now pardon his brother Jim, and any other Biden family member who could potentially be connected to foreign cash and/or FARA violations. This could include Jim’s wife Sara, Hallie Biden, Jill Biden, even Joe himself. He’s absolutely burned his credibility with those who still believed that he had some, and there are STILL people excusing the pardon because Orange Man Bad. There is nothing left for Joe Biden to lose. Hell, he might even pardon Major and Commander while he’s at it!

However, there is a whole lot for Democrats to lose. Joe Biden (and Jill Biden) will still be president for the next six weeks. And then the incoming Trump administration is going to (hopefully) come in like a wrecking ball, and there is little to nothing that Democrats can say to stop what happens next. Any Republican who still had a rosy view of Joe Biden (looking at YOU, Chuck Grassley) has had the scales fall from their eyes. With one pardon, Joe Biden undercut any moral authority Democrats thought they had. I hope they enjoy the reaping that is about to start.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click