Anita Dunn, a longtime Biden aide and former senior adviser, criticized the president's response to pardoning his son Hunter on Wednesday, saying she disagreed with the “timing” and “rationale,” but calling it “an issue for our country.” “It's an attack on the justice system.”
“If this pardon had been done at the end of the term, in the context of compassion, as many pardons are done, I'm sure there would have been a lot of commutations and it would have been a different story,” Dunn said. said. Speaking at a New York Times panel discussion At DealBook Summit 2024.
“So I'm saying that I absolutely agree with the president's decision here, I disagree with the way he did it, I disagree with the timing, I frankly disagree with the attack on our justice system. sea bream. “
When asked by the host to elaborate on his “comments attacking our justice system,” Dunn said, “I think the president's statements have to be taken at face value, and I think the president, like everyone else in the world, clearly has I have the following privileges.” I changed my mind, and indeed that's what he said there and what he actually did. ”
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Former Biden adviser Anita Dunn criticized the president's approach to Hunter Biden's pardon. (Getty Images)
“From a Democratic perspective, from a Democratic perspective, we were in the middle of the next president announcing his nominees, especially in the middle of Kash Patel's weekend, so we're kind of in the midst of this chaos. “I think it's very bad timing and this discussion is about a president who ran to restore the rule of law, a president who has defended the rule of law, a president who has really defended the rule of law.” I think that's something that many observers are concerned about about the president who has become president. “Well, maybe not right now,” she said.
Dunn, who served as Biden's political strategist and advisor during his 2020 campaign and served as a senior adviser to Biden until he left for Harris' campaign this summer, said he agrees with the pardon. “I do not agree with amnesty,” he reiterated. timing,” “argument,” and “evidence.”
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From left: Chief of Staff Bruce Reid, White House Counsel Steve Ricchetti, and Senior Advisor Anita Dunn walk on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., before accompanying President Biden on a day trip to New York City. June 29, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital contacted the White House but did not immediately receive a response.
Dunn added that he was not involved in any White House conversations about Hunter's pardon other than what was communicated to the press, but Dunn said his answer was “no.”
Dunn's comments come as recent polls show that Biden's decision to pardon Hunter, after repeatedly vowing not to give his son a pass, has the support of just 20% of Americans. It was issued under the conditions shown.
Dunn's comments prompted an immediate reaction on social media, including from Jill Biden's former press secretary, Michael LaRose. Posted in X,”I agree.”
When President Biden pardoned his son earlier this month, he tried to argue that Hunter was wrongly prosecuted.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement at the time. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept that promise even as I watched my son be selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”
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Recent polls show that President Biden's decision to grant clemency to his son Hunter, despite several promises not to give him a pass, is a decision that only 20% of Americans agree with. I have received nothing but support. (Fox News Digital Image Direct)
Biden went on to say that “absent any aggravating factors such as use in a crime, multiple purchases, or purchasing a weapon as a straw purchaser, people cannot be tried for felonies solely because of how they fill out a gun form.” “There is very little that can be done,” he added. “Non-criminal resolutions are typically available for people who missed paying their taxes due to severe addiction, but then repaid them with interest and penalties. It's clear that Hunter was treated differently. ”
The president also addressed his son's struggle with addiction and blamed the unraveling of Hunter's plea deal on “raw politics.”
“Even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution, there was an effort to break through Hunter's five-and-a-half years of sobriety,” his 82-year-old father wrote. “They tried to break Hunter, and they tried to break me too—and there's no reason to believe it'll stop here. Enough is enough.”
