Posted on: December 3, 2024, 11:13h.
Last updated on: December 3, 2024, 11:47h.
In the aftermath of President Joe Biden pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, for all offenses he has committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024, bettors on political wagering exchanges are staking money on who the president might additionally grant legal relief.
Bettors on Kalshi, a peer-to-peer online platform offering political derivatives, believe the president’s oldest brother, Jim Biden, is primed for a pardon. Since Biden went back on his word after saying he would respect the rule of law and the US Justice Department in not granting Hunter a pardon, shares of Jim Biden receiving a pardon have skyrocketed on Kalshi.
Bettors give Jim Biden a 33% chance of securing a Biden pardon. The odds continue to climb, up 13 points in just 24 hours, as many believe a DOJ under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration could target the 75-year-old, who many Republicans allege has engaged in shady business dealings and frequently invoked his brother to help move his investments forward.
Hunter’s pardon comes just weeks before his scheduled sentencing on gun and tax convictions.
Laptop Remains Focus
Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop that came into the possession of the Justice Department in 2019 after the government law enforcement agency seized the device from a computer repair shop owner in Delaware revealed a close relationship between Hunter and his uncle.
Hunter, we are cut from the same cloth,” one email read. “You are a fine and yes, a gentle person. Believe it or not, I know you. Sounds corney [sic], but we both deserve to enjoy the moment. Concentrate on the good in our lives and try to step out of all the bulls*** you deal with on a minute to minute basis.”
At the time, the two Bidens were working on a deal in China and other foreign partnerships for their US-based investments and businesses. GOP congresspeople believe Jim used his last name to secure risky loans, many of which he never repaid. Jim Biden’s business dealings have spanned hospitals, insurance companies, and nightclubs.
A 2022 profile piece published in The Washington Post described Jim Biden as a “political wild card.”
Pardon for Fauci?
Another popular pardon bet on Kalshi and Polymarket, a similar exchange but one that only deals in cryptocurrency, is Dr. Anthony Fauci. Bettors think Trump prosecutors could go after the man who led the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some Republicans contend that Fauci lied to Congress in dismissing allegations that the US government, via the National Institutes of Health, was funding “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology where the coronavirus likely originated. GOP leaders additionally allege that Fauci lied to the American people in stressing that the COVID-19 vaccines would stop the spread of transmission.
Fauci’s shares of receiving legal immunity from President Biden are trading on Polymarket at implied odds of 14%. That’s up 2% over the past 24 hours.
In a more unlikely scenario, Polymarket is offering odds on whether Diddy will be pardoned by the president. Diddy, a lifelong Democrat and party donor, is facing charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution.
Polymarket bettors give Diddy just a 2% shot at winning back his freedom through a presidential action.
