I understand why Joe Biden wants to protect his son Hunter. But it doesn't make it right | Arwa Mahdawi

This is another example of a two-tiered justice system that routinely shields the powerful - and punishes the powerless

No one is above the law," Joe Biden tweeted in May. He probably should have added a caveat to that because his own son appears to be floating far above the scales of justice. On Sunday the president issued a full and unconditional" pardon to his middle child, Hunter, who was facing possible prison time for convictions on gun and tax charges. Biden and his spokespeople had previously insisted - at least seven times - that the president would not pardon his 54-year-old son and Donald Trump is, predictably, having a field day with the U-turn.

A little background for those who haven't been following the misadventures of Hunter Biden as closely as Republicans have. Despite the fact that, unlike Trump's children, Hunter has never held a position in Biden's administration, Republicans are obsessed with the man and have used his problems to attack the president. And Hunter has made this easy: he has a history of dubious business dealings and his struggles with addiction have led to numerous personal scandals that have been disgracefully weaponised. At one point, the Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene showed nude photos of Hunter engaged in sex acts to the House oversight committee.