"Travesty of US justice system," Suhel Seth on Biden's pardon to son

Dec 02, 2024

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 2 : Business consultant Suhel Seth, on Monday said that US President Joe Biden's unconditional pardon to his son Hunter Biden was a travesty of the US Justice system. He also called out the US justice system on the way they had handled Adani case.
Seth, in conversation with ANI said that Biden had himself said that the US justice system was infected with politics and questioned if anyone would believe in the system.
"Yesterday, Joe Biden's unconditional pardon to his son Hunter Biden, to my mind is a travesty of the American justice system. What's worse is that it's an indictment of the justice system itself. A sitting president of the United States, Joe Biden, in this case, in his statement, has said that while he had faith in the American judiciary, he believes that politics has infected the American judiciary and therefore has led to a miscarriage of justice. These are not my words. These are the words of Joe Biden. If a sitting president of America says this about his justice system, you tell me who and where and why should anyone trust this American justice system?" Seth said.
Seth told ANI that the US Department of Justice is messed up and had taken a U-turn with Donald Trump.
"The Department of Justice is weaponized in the United States. We saw what happened with Donald Trump. Now you tell me, the same judge who indicted Donald Trump has now withdrawn the case. So it is an unholy mess," he said.
Seth told ANI that he believed that action of US proescutors linking Gautam Adani to an alleged bribery case was because of the success India has achieved recently.
"What have we seen with Adanis? They are a group in India. They're operating again, under Indian regulatory systems, which are, to my mind, the best in the world or on par. What do they first say? They issue a press statement. That one particular Adani, another particular Adani have been named. Then they issue a statement. No, their names are not there. It is clearly a politicization and to my mind it's a politicization because of the success that Indians and Indian businesses have achieved. This is a play of political purpose. It is not a play of justice. It's not a play of equality. You know, Amartya Sen very famously in a book called The Idea of Justice says, and he says it brilliantly, he says ultimately justice is about fairness," he said.
Seth said that if the outgoing US President felt that the justice department was unfair to his son, how could it be fair with Adani, or several Indians indicted in US?
"If the American president thinks it's unfair for his son, how can it be fair on any Indian company? Be it Adani, be it anyone. Several Indians individually have been indicted in the United States. See what happened with the famous Goldman Sachs Rajat Gupta case. So I'm telling you that today, people in India who are also the so-called woke, liberal, pseudo-liberal people should realize that the people they had hope in have actually bolted from the stables. The sitting American president on December 1 not only pardons his son, so let's not even talk about nepotism, but issues the worst indictment of the American justice system. Nothing can be more ironic. Nothing can be more telling and nothing can be more disastrous. So the Americans must recognize that they are actually in a banana republic with a kingdom which is falling apart, especially when they believe that justice is one of their important pillars of hope," he said.
US President Joe Biden on Sunday signed a pardon for his son, Robert Hunter Biden, who had been convicted on charges related to gun crimes and tax violations. The pardon ensures that Hunter Biden will not face sentencing for these offences and removes the possibility of prison time.
In a statement, President Biden addressed the charges against his son, arguing that individuals in similar situations--such as those with tax payment issues due to addiction--typically receive non-criminal resolutions. He contended that Hunter's case was treated differently, leading to felony charges despite the absence of aggravating factors.
Biden also stressed his commitment to not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, despite his belief that his son had been "selectively and unfairly prosecuted."