White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter, despite telling the press several times that the president had no such plans.
“He said he came to this decision over the weekend, and he said he was struggling with this and, because he believes in the justice system, but also believes that the raw politics has infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” Jean said -Claude. Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Angola.
She added, “Hunter was picked, and because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son. That’s what we saw. And so the president believed that enough was enough, and the president took action, and he also believes that she tried to break his son to break him.”
Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son, was found guilty of federal gun charges in June and pleaded guilty in September in a separate tax evasion case.
Jean-Pierre was asked by reporters in September whether the guilty plea had changed Biden’s mind about not pardoning his son.
“It’s no, it’s still no,” she said.
During a press conference at the White House on November 7, Jean-Pierre again dismissed questions about whether Biden planned to pardon his son.
“We’ve been asked that question several times. Our answer is no,” she said.
Questions about whether Biden would pardon his son have been circulating since last year. Before the jury reached its verdict in June, Biden said he would accept the decision and not use his presidential pardon power if Hunter were convicted. A few days later, the president also told the press that he would not commute his son’s sentence in the gun case either.
Those claims from Biden came before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
The president on Sunday granted a “full and unconditional pardon” for all crimes that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or participated in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” the White statement said. House.
In a statement explaining his decision, Biden said: “I believe in the justice system, but as I have struggled with this, I also believe that raw politics has tainted this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision This weekend there was no point in postponing it any further. I hope that Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”
Asked about the pardon, first lady Jill Biden said Monday: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
