WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, reversing his earlier pledge to leave the legal proceedings entirely up to the judicial system. Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges and faced upcoming sentencing.

Biden won the White House after saying a laptop that contained evidence of corruption in the Biden family was part of a “Russian plan” in 2020. Now, as one of his final acts as president, he is pardoning the son,

President Joe Biden just made history — the bad kind — with Sunday night’s sweeping Thanksgiving-weekend pardon of his own son, Hunter Biden. (Talk about trying to bury a story.) The outgoing president made this all way harder than it needed to be on himself, his son, and the justice system.

The gun case federal prosecutors brought against Hunter Biden was relatively rare, but the tax charges he pleaded guilty to may have been less unusual.

The president said he issued a pardon because his son was being unfairly targeted for political purposes. Here’s what to know about the pardon, the crimes and the reactions.

President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, though he had previously said he would not do so. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden had long pledged that he would not pardon his son, Hunter, who was set to be sentenced this month for gun and tax convictions. But on Sunday, the president did it anyway.

The pardon comes after Biden repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his son’s sentence. And in his statement, Biden said he was granting the pardon because his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”

In a social media post, the Michigan Democrat said the president and his family "shouldn't get special treatment."