White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, 54, addressing previous denials that such action would be taken.
The president issued a full and unconditional pardon covering any potential federal crimes committed by Hunter Biden between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.
During a press briefing aboard Air Force One en route to Luanda, Angola, Jean-Pierre faced questions about the administration’s previous statements. Since July 2023, the press secretary had denied six times that the president was considering a pardon for his son.
“One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” Jean-Pierre said, emphasizing that Biden had “wrestled” with the decision with his family during the Thanksgiving break on Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The pardon encompasses all offenses charged or prosecuted by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in the United States District Courts for the District of Delaware and the Central District of California.
Jean-Pierre indicated there might be additional pardons forthcoming. “I’m not going to get ahead of the president on this, but you could expect more announcements, more pardons, clemency at the end of this term,” she told reporters.
The press secretary maintained that Hunter Biden was targeted because of his relationship to the president. “The president believed enough is enough,” she said. “And the president took action, and he also believes that they tried to break his son in order to break him. That’s what we saw.”
President Biden’s statement on the pardon emphasized his belief that “raw politics” had influenced the legal process. The president noted that his son has maintained sobriety for five and a half years.
The pardon has drawn criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats. Critics argue that it undermines public trust in the rule of law, while supporters point out that previous presidents have pardoned family members, including Trump’s pardon of his father-in-law, Charles Kushner.
The special counsel overseeing the cases has rejected claims that Hunter Biden was singled out for prosecution. However, some legal experts argue that similar charges are rarely pursued in the United States.