ISABELLE MULLEN: Joe Biden shows his true colours by doing what he said he would not do, pardon his son Hunter

Joe Biden did something that most parents would do.

He used his Presidential power to pardon his son Hunter — a recovering drug addict — saving him from sentencing after he was convicted of gun charges and plead guilty to tax offences.

Many parents would look at his decision and say, well why not? He’s on his way out of office after all.

He’s not the first President to use his power to better his family’s situation and he won’t be the last.

But in pardoning his son Hunter he’s undermined the Democratic party, leaving Americans with a cynical feeling that all politicians are the same and all politicians lie.

The worst part is he did the very thing that he said again and again that he wouldn’t do.

Not only did he repeatedly promise that he wouldn’t pardon his son, but his supporters used his refusal to do so, as an example of how he was different from Donald Trump. And how he would uphold the rule of the law.

In his statement Biden made no attempt to link his actions to concerns over what a Trump administration could mean for Hunter if he wasn’t pardoned.

Instead, the outgoing President claimed Hunter was unfairly targeted while he was in office.

“There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough,” he said.

Biden claims the charges against Hunter came about after his political opponents “instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.”

Whatever he believes now — or believed then — he shouldn’t have made such a fuss about not pardoning him.

Naturally Trump made hay while the sun was shining, writing on Truth Social; “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice.”

He’s referring to the January 6 rioters, convicted after storming the Capital.

In fact, there are plenty of people who Americans would like Biden to pre-emptively pardon.

Including Dr Tony Fauci who said Trump made false statements about aspects of the COVID19 pandemic.

And the lawyers who brought the charges against Trump. I bet they’d be grateful for a pre-emptive pardon.

The point is there are plenty of people who could do with a pardon who won’t get one.

It’s a controversial power that dates back to 1795.

The Whiskey Rebels who were tired of the tax on spirits burned down the home of the local tax agent. Alexander Hamilton argued the stability of a very young United States was at risk. So, President George Washington led a 13,000-strong reserve to Pennsylvania to deal with the uproar.

Two members of the mob were arrested and sentenced to death by hanging, but both men were pardoned by Washington that year in a bid to avoid the fallout.

And so began a controversial privilege of office. The power to grant clemency.

Trump issued 144 pardons during his first four years in office and will likely issue many more.

Barack Obama granted clemency unlike many other presidents in US history, relieving people of long sentences for drug related offences.

In his last week in office, he granted clemency to 273 federal inmates.

Mass pardons were also issued by Former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.

The problem with Biden is that he never stopped talking about how he was different and would uphold the rule of the law when it came to his son Hunter.

The outgoing President proving once again that “respect for the law” comes second when the case is close to home.

It creates a cynical feeling that all politicians are the same.

Joe Biden said he made the decision while enjoying Thanksgiving with his family.

But whether the Democrats will thank him is another story.