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Trump transition live updates: President-elect raises prospect of pardons for Jan. 6 crimes

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Demetrius Freeman

News broke Sunday afternoon that President Joe Biden was granting clemency to his son Hunter for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/02/hunter-biden-presidential-pardon-comparisons/" target=_blank>a period of nearly 11 years</a> — beginning in January 2014 and extending through Dec. 1, 2024.

In a statement, Biden argued that the clemency decision was meant to protect his son against a continuation of what he described as politically motivated investigations and prosecutions. There’s reason to think his son could still be targeted: Several individuals in President-elect Donald Trump’s orbit <a href="https://x.com/StephenM/status/1800551059594912143" target=_blank>have</a> <a href="https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1863634487789125646" target=_blank>suggested</a> that Hunter Biden’s work a decade ago should be investigated.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/how-to-read-this-chart/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=CONTEXT" target=_blank>Subscribe to How to Read This Chart</a>, a weekly dive into the data behind the news. Each Saturday, national columnist Philip Bump makes and breaks down charts explaining the latest in economics, pop culture, politics and more.

But we are not here to adjudicate that. We are here, instead, to note that the grant of clemency offered by Biden included an unusual little loophole: Hunter Biden would, according to the document made public Sunday afternoon, receive “a full and unconditional pardon for those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”

Sunday was Dec. 1. Meaning that, from the time between the grant of clemency and midnight, Hunter Biden had carte blanche to violate federal law. The purge, made personal.

There’s no reason to think that Hunter Biden took advantage of this freedom. But, as a service to readers, I thought it might be useful to articulate what he could have done, which relatively innocuous federal crimes he might have gotten away with, had he decided to give it a go.

Again, this is a grant of clemency that applies to federal — not state — crimes. It’s not immediately clear whether the wording of the pardon would apply to crimes committed in the District of Columbia, a federal jurisdiction. Should you similarly receive a few hours to do crime and are in D.C. (as Hunter was Sunday), make sure you clarify the wording before you start doing illegal things.

With those qualifiers out of the way, here are some relatively benign or otherwise interesting federal crimes that Hunter Biden — or you! — could commit on short notice. All of the prohibitions below come from <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I" target=_blank>Title 18</a> of the U.S. Criminal Code.

Steal $10,000 worth of goats. Section 667 stipulates that it is against the law to boost livestock used in interstate commerce. This would admittedly be hard to pull off in a few hours, but it's worth a shot.

Impersonate a member of the 4-H Club. Since 4-H was established as part of the Department of Agriculture, you’re not allowed to pretend that you work for the organization, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/916" target=_blank>Section 916</a>. You could go to jail for six months.

Run a casino from a boat. Again, hard to pull off, but <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1082" target=_blank>Section 1082</a> bans this practice for anyone who hasn’t received clemency.

Hold a parade in an effort to sway a judge. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1507" target=_blank>Section 1507</a> makes it a federal crime to try to influence judges or juries with protests or parades, however entertaining.

Steal a tree from Yellowstone. In general, people are not allowed to remove timber from public lands, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1852" target=_blank>Section 1852</a>.

Wear a fake U.S. Postal Service uniform or try to deliver mail or make fake stamps. Sections <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1730" target=_blank>1730</a>, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1693" target=_blank>1693</a> and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/501" target=_blank>501</a> prohibit people from pretending to be mail carriers by dressing as letter carriers, from actually delivering mail, and from making fake stamps to use on postal items. Hunter’s post office — H.B.P.S., if you will — could have happened, if only briefly.

Rob a steamboat post office. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2116" target=_blank>Section 2116</a> prohibits this, but Hunter Biden could have done it anyway, had he come across a steamboat post office.

Vandalize coins. If Hunter Biden etched “Joe Biden Rules” on a quarter Sunday afternoon, he’d get away with it. If you did that without a similar grant of clemency, you’d be subject to up to five years in prison, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331" target=_blank>Section 331</a>.

Dig a big tunnel from Vermont into Canada. Again, I’m not saying that creating a passageway large enough for Canadians to sneak into Burlington would be trivial or quick. I’m just saying that doing so without clemency exposes you to charges under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/555" target=_blank>Section 555</a>.

Get on a train because you want to rob someone. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1991" target=_blank>Section 1991</a> makes it illegal to do this. It is recommended that, even with clemency, you don’t do the robbing.

Kidnap sailors into serving on your vessel. It is illegal, under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2194" target=_blank>Section 2194</a>, to slink into a seedy portside bar, slip a mickey into a sailor’s drink and then shanghai them into service on your yacht. Unless your dad gives you a few hours of immunity from federal law.

Make a bootleg “Spin Doctors” CD. Still illegal under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2319" target=_blank>Section 2319</a>.

Aim a laser pointer at a Southwest Airlines flight. Technically, you can’t point a laser at any airline’s planes, but I’m just picking on Southwest for no particular reason. This is illegal, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/39A" target=_blank>Section 39A</a>.

Sponsor a rooster in a cock fight. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/49" target=_blank>Section 49</a> bans this practice, one that seems feasible to organize in a few hours’ time.

Produce the smallpox virus. Trickier to pull off in a narrow window, but nonetheless illegal, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/175c" target=_blank>Section 175c</a>.

Pay a boxer to take a dive. If you wanted to, say, give a veteran, aged fighter a few grand to lose a fight against, say, an internet influencer, you would want to do so only when granted clemency by the president, lest you violate <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/224" target=_blank>Section 224</a>.

Burn a flag. Still prohibited according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/700" target=_blank>Section 700</a>. It would be a good way to divert the public’s attention away from the grant of clemency, too, if desired.

Make a drawing of a military base. Something that everyone has, at some point, wanted to do but that only Hunter Biden had free rein to do Sunday, given the prohibitions of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/795" target=_blank>Section 795</a>.

Raid a ship while declaring that you are doing so under the authority of Prince Charles. Federal law says this makes you a pirate (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1652" target=_blank>Section 1652</a>), so you’ll want that clemency in place first.

Mail a friend a cigarette. No can do; <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1716E" target=_blank>Section 1716E</a>.

Sabotage a nuclear reactor with the intent to cause death or serious injury. This is illegal, according to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2332i" target=_blank>Section 2332i</a>, with good reason.

Kidnap your father. If your father is the president, you are allowed to kidnap him only if you have been granted clemency to do so, given that <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1751" target=_blank>Section 1751</a> bans it.

Hunt a wild donkey from a helicopter. It depends on the donkey, but this can be illegal under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/47" target=_blank>Section 47</a>.

Get a 15-year-old to join your army. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2442" target=_blank>Section 2442</a> makes this illegal. But if you have clemency? Why not establish the youngest armed force in America!

And there you go. Some options on how to spend those precious few hours when, in the eyes of the U.S. government, you can do just about anything your heart desires. Get that 4-H vest out of storage and prepare to do some piracy.

The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America

Ohio State University

Philip Bump is a Post columnist based in New York. He writes the newsletter <a href="https://wapo.st/3m3QTiy">How To Read This Chart</a> and is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696653/the-aftermath-by-philip-bump/">The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America</a>.

Philip Bump

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