Top US House Democrat calls on Biden to pardon working-class Americans

Washington, U.S. - The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to pardon some working-class Americans after drawing criticism for pardoning his own son, Hunter Biden.

"During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses," Jeffries said in a statement.

Biden, who leaves office on Jan. 20, for months had said he would not pardon his son, who was found guilty of lying about being addicted to illegal drugs while buying a gun and pleaded guilty to criminal charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. The sweeping pardon also applied to any other crimes "he committed or may have committed" between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.

The president said he believed his son had been made the target of a politically motivated prosecution. Republicans including President-elect Donald Trump blasted the move, as did some Democrats, who said it eroded trust in the judicial system.

"I'm deeply concerned with how we move forward," Democratic Senator Ben Cardin told Reuters on Tuesday. "We've got to have confidence in an independent judiciary and I don’t think we’re where we need to be."

Jeffries' request comes after 60 Democratic members of Congress penned a letter to Biden last month urging him to use his pardon power to "address longstanding injustice in our legal system."

The letter noted that the U.S. has disproportionately incarcerated people of color, low-income individuals, members of the LGBTQ community and those with disabilities, and that 90% of the federal prison population was convicted on non-violent offenses.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; additional reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)