In a twist of irony, legal experts suggest that President Joe Biden’s efforts to secure his son’s freedom could ultimately expose him to legal jeopardy, as the move may pave the way for Hunter Biden to testify against his father. The political landscape in Washington, D.C., was rocked earlier this month when Biden issued a sweeping pardon to his embattled son, covering both known and potential offenses dating back to 2014.+

The clemency was broader in scope than the pardon granted to former President Richard Nixon after Watergate. Despite repeatedly denying plans to do so over the past year, Biden defended his decision in a statement, arguing that “raw politics has infected” Hunter’s conviction on a felony gun charge in September and warning of a similar pattern in the Justice Department’s pursuit of tax evasion charges against Hunter in California.