In a shocking move, President Joe Biden issued a pardon this past weekend which absolved his son for any crimes committed over the the past decade.

While the judge who oversaw one of Hunter Biden's criminal cases cannot reverse the pardon, he was quick to strike down the president's justification for it. 

Judge slams idea that Hunter's prosecution was politically motivated

According to Breitbart, that was the approach taken by District Judge Mark Scarsi in a five-page order released on Tuesday.

Scarsi presided over Hunter's federal tax case, which ended when the president's son pleaded guilty to nine charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss.

JUST IN: Judge Scarsi trashes President Biden’s pardon for his son and the letter justifying it — saying it’s an attempt to rewrite history and impugns judges and DOJ personnel from his own administration. pic.twitter.com/YmHRK8S9mp

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 4, 2024

Specifically, Scarsi took issue with President Biden's claim that his son's prosecution was the result of a politically motivated vendetta.

Judge: Presidents lack "the authority to rewrite history"

"A press release is not a pardon," Scarsi declared. "The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States … but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history."

"The President's own Attorney General and Department of Justice personnel oversaw the investigation leading to the charges," he stressed.

"In the President’s estimation, this legion of federal civil servants, the undersigned included, are unreasonable people," the judge observed.

What's more, Scarsi pointed out how the pardon covered any and all federal offenses carried out between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024 even though it was issued before the end of December 1. This led the judge to question whether a pardon can apply to future offenses.

Liberal analyst calls pardon an "act of nepotism"

Scarsi was not alone in expressing disgust over the president's decision, as his pardon for Hunter has even left liberal figures shaking their heads.

One of them is legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who wrote in a guest column for The New York Times on Monday that the pardon was a "consummate act of nepotism."

"With the pardon of his son, Mr. Biden added his name to the roll call of presidents who dishonored their office by misusing the pardon power," Toobin asserted.

Meanwhile, NBC correspondent Chuck Todd accused the president of being selfish by running for office at the same time that Hunter was turning his late brother's wife "into a crack addict."