President Joe Biden just made history — the bad kind — with Sunday night’s sweeping Thanksgiving-weekend pardon of his own son, Hunter Biden. (Talk about trying to bury a story.) The outgoing president made this all way harder than it needed to be on himself, his son, and the justice system.

Joe Biden’s strong tie to his family is at the core of his being, his role as a father the most important to him—greater than any political fallout.

President Joe Biden ’s decision to pardon his son Hunter may have drawn bipartisan criticism, but it doesn’t seem to be causing nearly as much controversy at home. First lady Jill Biden told reporters Monday that she fully supports her husband’s action.

Below is a look at the circumstances leading up to the pardon and its legal consequences. WHAT DID THE PARDON COVER? Hunter Biden was pardoned for

The pardon comes after Biden repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his son’s sentence. And in his statement, Biden said he was granting the pardon because his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”

The president said he issued a pardon because his son was being unfairly targeted for political purposes. Here’s what to know about the pardon, the crimes and the reactions.

The gun case federal prosecutors brought against Hunter Biden was relatively rare, but the tax charges he pleaded guilty to may have been less unusual.