Senator-elect Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, is facing sharp and much-warranted criticism after the internet reminded him that not that long ago, he whined and complained President-elect Donald Trump would abuse his political power by pardoning his relatives. The reason this has suddenly become relevant again is because President Joe Biden just issued a pardon for his troubled son, Hunter Biden, who has a seedy past stuffed to the brim with drug abuse and addiction, felony firearm charges, tax evasion, and likely participation in an operation to sell political influence.
In many places around the world, we would call this “hypocrisy.” Adam “Shifty” Schiff seems to be an expert in the field. Heck, I bet if you looked up the word in the dictionary, you’d find the description of hypocrisy reads simply: Adam Schiff. And everyone would know immediately what you meant.
On X, users recirculated a clip from 2018 showing Schiff telling former CNN host Don Lemon that Trump, if he were to pardon one of his sons while under investigation, could be found guilty of obstruction of justice. “In the event that the president pardons anyone in an investigation in which the president is a witness, the subject, or the target, those investigative files would all be turned over to the Congress. The Congress ought to know whether the president is using the pardon power to obstruct justice. The American people have a right to know,” Schiff said, explaining legislation he filed at the time to rein in Trump’s ability to pardon family members. “I think it is clearly constitutional. It doesn’t prevent him from granting a pardon, even a pardon he shouldn’t grant, but it does say that we will be able to at least find out whether the president is using this power to shield himself.”
Adam Schiff in 2018 said pardoning a president’s son could be an effort to obstruct justicepic.twitter.com/XLn6tOnZSm
— Wendell Husebø (@WendellHusebo) December 2, 2024
During President-elect Trump’s first term, the California lawmaker was a thorn in his side, co-chairing the J6 select committee and spearheading the House’s first impeachment effort against him. Since winning his Senate election last month, Schiff has taken on an elevated role in Washington, one that could see him forced to backtrack on some of his most incendiary statements about the so-called abuse of power by Trump. Democrats largely remained mum on Monday, one day after Biden issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son that extends to the past 11 years. The decision now vacates a felony conviction on gun charges and avoids the spectacle of a sentencing hearing later this month that could have seen Hunter Biden subjected to prison time. He will also be pardoned in a case involving felony tax evasion, both of which were prosecuted by special counsel David Weiss.
President-elect Donald Trump was angry over the whole matter, referring to Biden pardoning his son as an “injustice” going on to promise he would follow suit and issue pardons for any member of his family that could potentially end up facing political prosecution.
“Without question, there has long been a fair debate on both sides whether Hunter Biden is being treated overly leniently or overzealously because of his status as Joe Biden’s son. I think there are points to both sides of that. But I think that what’s not disputable is this is a historic act of political nepotism,” Elie Honig went on to say on Monday.