But pardons are often used for non-legitimate reasons, such as Bill Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich and Clinton's half brother, Roger Clinton.  Bill did not pardon Roger until after Roger had served his sentence.  Rich, however, an international fugitive on the FBI's ten most wanted list, was apparently pardoned in exchange for political donations and donations to the Clinton library.  Donations continued for 15 years after the pardon. In other words, the pardon was purchased.  https://nypost.com/2016/01/17/after-pardoning-criminal-marc-rich-clintons-made-millions-off-friends/ 

Biden's pardon of his son occurred prior to Hunter's sentence and before a day was served.  No doubt that many a mother and father wish they had the power to grant their son or daughter a pardon.  It is disturbing that Biden pretends that the charges against Hunter were politically motivated and designed to hurt President Biden, as if the FBI and DOJ committed to Biden's protection would act against him.  The charges were protective of Biden and were brought in order to get the focus off the more dangerous information in the laptop.  The politically motivated charges were the ones brought against Trump. But I don't really blame Biden from using his power to save his son from prison. In a way it shows Joe Biden more committed to his son than to his reputation.  You can see the pardon as a conservative act as protection of the family is the basis of society.  But in our society so is equal standing under the law, which took a hit from the pardon.

What we should find more upsetting than the pardon is the protection that the FBI and Department of Justice provided for President Biden and his son from the evidence in Hunter's laptop. The FBI put out the story, quickly accepted by the presstitutes, that the laptop was a Russian attempt to discredit the US president. The prosecutions that Hunter has faced are limited to his false statement on his gun purchase application and to failure to pay income taxes on  the profits from his and President Biden's influence peddling ventures to which the FBI and Department of Justice (sic) have turned a blind eye–the same FBI and DOJ that gave Biden clearance on the documents charge for which Trump was indicted and prosecuted. 

 In other words, under the Democrats justice in America was totally corrupted and still 45% of American voters voted for Democrats in the last election. This tells us that close to half of the voting population either is too insouciant or ignorant to know what is going on, or is indifferent or unconcerned whether law serves justice or political, ideological, and personal agendas.