‘Disgusting!’: Biden Slammed By Both Sides For Last-Minute Decision

Fox News hosts expressed strong concerns over President Joe Biden’s recent decision to commute the sentence of Michael T. Conahan, a disgraced judge at the center of the infamous “kids for cash” scandal.

Conahan, a former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania judge, was among the 1,500 individuals who had their sentences commuted by Biden this week. The president also granted pardons to 39 non-violent offenders. However, Conahan’s release has drawn significant backlash due to his pivotal role in a scheme where he accepted kickbacks from private prisons in exchange for sentencing juveniles to detention facilities.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, openly criticized the decision, saying during an event that Biden’s action in Conahan’s case was “absolutely wrong.” The White House explained that Conahan’s commutation was based on criteria including his placement on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Convicted in 2011, Conahan had been serving a 17-year sentence before his release.

Salena Zito, a columnist from Pittsburgh, joined Fox News on Saturday to discuss the case with host Will Cain, calling the “kids for cash” scandal a “profound disgrace” in Pennsylvania’s history. Zito emphasized the devastating toll of Conahan’s actions, including the tragic death by suicide of a young man who had been sentenced to detention as part of the corrupt scheme.

“This had a devastating impact on families,” Zito explained.

Sandy Fonzo, the mother of the young man who took his own life, released a statement condemning Biden’s decision: “Conahan’s actions destroyed families, including mine. My son’s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power.”

Fox News co-host Carley Shimkus added, “So real consequences for what this individual did, to try and get money off of the lives of children.”

Co-host Kevin Corke expressed similar outrage, stating, “It’s beyond disgusting. When she said vulgar, that really resonates with a lot of Pennsylvanians, but even if you’re not from the Keystone State, you hear about this story, and it shocks the conscience.” He continued, “We’re talking about children here. And to do it for money is beyond the pale.”

The controversy over Conahan’s commutation comes amid another heated debate about Biden’s recent decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. The president had previously stated he would not interfere in his son’s legal matters but reversed course late last month.

The pardon, covering the period from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024, includes Hunter Biden’s convictions on charges of lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm and failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019. Before the pardon, Hunter faced up to 17 years in prison for the tax-related offenses.

Hunter Biden defended himself in a statement, asserting, “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.”

In a surprising legal twist, special counsel David Weiss filed a motion in a California federal court overseeing Hunter’s tax case, urging the judge not to dismiss the charges. Weiss’s filing emphasized, “There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case.”

Weiss further noted, “The defendant [Hunter Biden] made similar baseless accusations in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Those claims were also rejected.” Weiss pointed out that 11 federal judges, appointed by six different presidents, had reviewed and dismissed Hunter’s claims of prosecutorial bias.

As criticism mounts from both Republicans and members of Biden’s own party, the decisions regarding Conahan and Hunter Biden have ignited intense debate about fairness, accountability, and political influence in the justice system.