Following President Biden’s unconditional pardon of his son, Hunter Biden is now facing allegations of owing more than $300,000 in unpaid rent to former landlords.
According to Shaun Maguire, a partner at venture capital firm Sequoia, Hunter Biden has racked up significant rent debts. Reacting to the pardon on social media, Maguire wrote:
“Hunter Biden owes my family over $300,000 in back rent from 2019 and 2020. What happens to that money? Has it been forgiven? Thank you, Joe.”
President Biden granted his son a “full and unconditional pardon” on Sunday, which covers any federal offenses committed between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024. The charges included alleged tax violations and lying on a firearm background check form regarding substance abuse. This move appears to contradict earlier statements from the president, who had publicly said he would not pardon his son.
Maguire further claimed that Hunter Biden was a tenant in a Venice, California home, where he failed to pay rent for over a year. In a particularly unusual detail, Maguire alleged Hunter once attempted to offer artwork made with his own excrement as a form of payment. The rent was reportedly $25,000 per month, and Maguire described the situation on social media as “Absolute s–bag.”
He also accused Hunter of using Secret Service protection to change the locks and block access to the property.
When asked if he and his family had tried to evict Hunter over the unpaid rent, Maguire responded that the Bidens are “a scary family to go after.”
It’s important to note that a presidential pardon only applies to federal crimes and would not erase any civil liabilities such as unpaid rent. Maguire’s claims follow prior reports that Hunter Biden also owed $80,000 in rent to Jonathan Neman, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen. That debt reportedly related to another $25,000-a-month Venice property.
While President Biden defended his pardon of Hunter as an act of compassion for someone battling addiction, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi—appointed by Donald Trump—sharply criticized the public framing of the decision. In a five-page ruling, Scarsi said the president’s statements about the case “stand in tension with the case record” and suggested they were misleading.
Scarsi took issue with the idea that Hunter Biden was unfairly targeted or treated differently because of his addiction, noting:
“The President claims that Mr. Biden ‘was treated differently’ from those ‘who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions,’ suggesting Mr. Biden falls into that category. But he’s not.”
He added that Biden’s claims implied misconduct by the Justice Department and judiciary, including himself, even though the investigation was handled by officials appointed by President Biden’s own administration.
Ultimately, Scarsi stated it was not within his role to determine the constitutionality of the pardon, but he expressed concern that granting clemency for actions up through December 1—signed on that very day—could shield Hunter from consequences for misconduct committed mere hours before the pardon took effect.
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