President Biden's move to pardon his son Hunter has been met with criticism from opponents and some allies. The rapid advance by rebel fighters in Syria is linked to a series of conflicts in the Middle East. And, protesters in Georgia are calling for elections as the government suspends talks for membership to the European Union. Join the new NPR Plus Bundle to support our work and get perks like sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes across more than 25 NPR podcasts. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Andrew Sussman, Nick Spicer, Lisa Thomson and HJ Mai. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the controversy surrounding Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden?
Look, you understand his feelings as a father, but he shouldn't put those aside.
Some critics think the choice could upend his legacy.
I'm Amy Martinez, that's Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. A nearly 14-year civil war in Syria was frozen in an unsettling stalemate, then a rebel offensive in Syria against the government shook the status quo. How opposition forces are taking advantage of Syria's distracted allies cut up in other conflicts.
And protesters in Georgia are calling for elections as the government suspends talks for membership to the European Union.
Chapter 2: How has Biden's pardon been received by critics and supporters?
They stole our voice, they stole our future, and we do not accept that.
Stay with us, we'll give you the news you need to start your day. President Biden came into office promising to respect the independence of the justice system.
But this week, he did something that his critics and even a few of his allies say undermines his arguments that no one is above the law. He pardoned his son Hunter after saying many times he would not.
To help us make sense of the politics of this moment and what it means for Biden's legacy, we're joined now by NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Good morning, Asma. Good morning, Leila. Okay, so the president signed this full, unconditional pardon for his son. Tell us more about how this is being received.
So it did not come as a complete surprise, but the reaction has been strong. Mona Charan is a former Republican who, a couple of weeks ago, worried about this possibility, wrote a piece for the anti-Trump publication called The Bulwark saying, President Biden, don't pardon Hunter. So I asked her what she made of the president's decision.
Look, you understand his feelings as a father, but he should have put those aside because this so discredits everything he had been saying about why he was different from Trump.
Biden ran on preserving democracy and the rule of law, and he was a former chair in the Senate of the Judiciary Committee. Trump has long insisted the Justice Department is being weaponized against him and his supporters. And now Biden is saying his son was unfairly targeted by the justice system. As you can imagine, Republicans were quick to criticize the president.
House Speaker Mike Johnson explicitly blamed Biden for damaging trust in the justice system.
OK, so you mentioned that some Democrats are trying to argue that the other side is worse. What are other Democrats saying?
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of Biden's decision for his legacy?
He told me there's already this feeling in America that powerful people live by a different set of rules than normal folks. And this feeds into that. He also told me that he's worried about how this could embolden Trump.
I am worried that one of the things that will come from this is that the next president, who himself is not committed to the rule of law at all, will use President Biden's pardon of his son as a cudgel and as a precedent to erode the rule of law.
And he's not alone. The governor of Colorado said it'll tarnish Biden's reputation. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan said it erodes faith in government and described it as an improper use of power. One reason why this is also top of mind to Democrats is that Trump has said he'll pardon January 6th rioters on day one.
And Trump's first response to the news of Hunter Biden's pardon was to again refer back to those January 6th rioters. He sees those as political prosecutions. This pardon could make it harder for Democrats to criticize Trump if he moves forward with that pledge. And really quickly, how is the White House defending this decision?
We haven't heard from the president directly since he issued a press release about the pardon Sunday night. He's in the country of Angola for the next couple of days. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did tell reporters on that foreign trip that that they feel that Hunter Biden was singled out because his last name was Biden.
Over the last few months, she has told reporters that a pardon was not in the works. And so she's facing a lot of questions now about the administration's credibility over the issue. And PR's Asma Khalid. Thank you, Asma. Good to speak with you.
From afar, the rapid advance by rebel fighters in Syria seemed to come out of nowhere.
Yet this is part of a series of events in the Middle East that have been taking place for more than a year now. Collectively, they have destabilized the wider region and helped reignite a civil war in Syria that had settled into a years-long stalemate.
For a closer look, we're now joined by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myrie. Hi, Greg.
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Chapter 4: What is the current situation in Syria amid rebel offensives?
Thank you, Leila.
And that's Up First for Tuesday, December 3rd. I'm Leila Falded.
And I'm A. Martinez. For your next listen, how about Consider This from NPR? We're here to first give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you in just 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get those podcasts.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Andrew Sussman, Nick Spicer, Lisa Thompson, and H.J. Mai. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.