by Steven Richards
Joe Biden’s clemency spree began secretly in late November when he commuted the prison sentences of three Chinese nationals convicted in espionage, child pornography, and fraud case just a few days before issuing a controversial pardon to his son Hunter.
The commutations for Yanjun Xu (pictured above, left), Ji Chaoqun, and Jin Shanlin (pictured above, right) were dated Nov. 22 but escaped much public notice until Thursday when the 46th president issued the largest single-day batch of pardons and commutations in modern American history — more than 1,500 in all that stirred controversy on social media and puzzlement inside Congress.
Officials told Just the News the clemency for the three Chinese nationals were part of a Thanksgiving holiday prisoner swap with communist China for three American’s wrongfully detained there.
The Chinese government reciprocated by releasing Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung, in an exchange announced the day after Thanksgiving.
Yanjun Xu was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison for espionage crimes targeting American aviation companies for trade secrets and acting as a Chinese intelligence officer, the Justice Department said in a press release. Court documents show Xu specifically targeted GE Aviation, a Cincinnati, Ohio firm, to acquire an exclusive aircraft component.
Ji Chaoqun was working in the United States under the Chinese Ministry of State Security and was being directed by Xu, who was his handler, the court documents show.
Ji eventually applied to join the U.S. Army through a program that accepts legal immigrants with vital language skills with plans to eventually become a citizen and obtain a security clearance, the DOJ said. When he applied he lied, claiming he had no contacts with foreign government officials, prosecutors alleged.
Jin Shaolin was studying as a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University when he was caught with more than 47,000 images and videos of child pornography on his computer, according to the Dallas Morning News. Jin reportedly has Chinese Communist Party connections, according to the outlet. He pled guilty to the charges and was serving an eight year prison sentence for the offenses.
The commutations of the Chinese prisoners kicked off Biden’s clemency spree, which continued Dec 1 when he erased his son Hunter’s felony tax and gun convictions with a parson. On Thursday, the administration announced commutations for 1,500 individuals and pardons for 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. Additional pardons and commutations are expected, per the Wall Street Journal.
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Steven Richards is a reporter for Just the News.
