Following President Joe Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, for any offenses committed or potentially committed from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024, bettors on political betting platforms are placing wagers on who else the president might offer legal clemency. 

Participants on Kalshi, a peer-to-peer digital platform providing political derivatives, think that the president’s eldest sibling, Jim Biden, is set for a pardon. After Biden reneged on his promise to uphold the rule of law and the US Justice Department by not granting Hunter a pardon, shares of Jim Biden receiving a pardon have surged on Kalshi. 

Gamblers estimate Jim Biden has a 33% likelihood of obtaining a Biden pardon. The chances keep increasing, rising 13 points in merely 24 hours, as numerous people think a DOJ under President-elect Donald Trump may focus on the 75-year-old, whom many Republicans claim has participated in dubious business dealings and often called on his brother to aid in advancing his investments. 

Hunter's pardon arrives mere weeks ahead of his planned sentencing for gun and tax offenses. 

Laptop Stays Centered 

Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, which was obtained by the Justice Department in 2019 after the law enforcement agency confiscated it from a Delaware computer repair shop owner, showed a strong connection 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 that moment, the two Bidens were engaged in negotiations in China and other international collaborations for their investments and businesses based in the US. Republican congress members think Jim leveraged his last name to obtain questionable loans, many of which remain unpaid. Jim Biden’s business ventures have included hospitals, insurance firms, and nightclubs. 

A profile article from 2022 in The Washington Post characterized Jim Biden as a “political wild card.” 

Forgiveness for Fauci? 

Another well-known pardon wager on Kalshi and Polymarket, which is a comparable exchange that exclusively operates with cryptocurrency, is Dr. Anthony Fauci. Gamblers believe that Trump’s legal team might target the individual who headed the U.S. response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Certain Republicans argue that Fauci misled Congress by rejecting claims that the US government, through the National Institutes of Health, was financing “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is believed to be the virus's point of origin. GOP leaders also claim that Fauci deceived the American public by emphasizing that the COVID-19 vaccines would prevent the transmission of the virus. 

Fauci's chances of obtaining legal immunity from President Biden are being valued on Polymarket with implied odds of 14%. That’s an increase of 2% in the last 24 hours. 

In a less probable situation, Polymarket is providing odds on the possibility of Diddy receiving a presidential pardon. Diddy, a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party and donor, is confronting accusations of racketeering, forced sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution purposes. 

Polymarket gamblers assign Diddy only a 2% chance of regaining his freedom via a presidential intervention.