The White House on Monday defended its decision not to pardon President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, who has insisted for more than a year not to pardon him.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One that one of the reasons the president made this decision is to ensure that once the next administration takes office, Republicans and President-elect Trump will not ease up on prosecuting his son. He said it was because he believed that.
“One of the reasons the president did the pardon was because his political opponents didn't seem like they were going to let go of the pardon and they weren't going to move on. That's why this president took this action.” Jean-Pierre said while being peppered with questions about Biden's complete reversal.
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Biden made the unexpected announcement of his son's pardon late Sunday, just before he departed on a trip to Angola. Jean-Pierre's comments were the first time the White House was asked about the decision.
Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden believes the Justice Department is now politicized. It's a claim Trump has repeatedly made as he battles his own series of legal problems and is often criticized by Democrats.
“He believes in the Department of Justice, but he also believes that his son is politically isolated, and that's why he made this decision,” Jean-Pierre added.
“The president has struggled with this decision and has decided to make this decision this weekend and move forward with pardoning my son,” she said.
The president and Hunter Biden were in Nantucket, Massachusetts, over the weekend to spend Thanksgiving with family. They also went out to lunch together at a local restaurant.
Before the election, President Trump said he would not rule out pardoning Hunter Biden if he won, saying he believed the president's son was also a political target.
“I'm not going to take it off the books. Look, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they did to me, despite what happened, they kept me so persistent. He went after him — and Hunter is the bad guy. There's no question about that,” Trump said in October.
Jean-Pierre on Monday questioned why she, Biden and other aides insisted for more than a year that the president would not pardon his son. They were asked multiple times if a pardon for Hunter Biden was being considered, and repeatedly answered a resounding “no.”
“He thought about this this weekend and this is a decision he made this weekend. He was struggling with it,” she said. “What he saw was that his son had been singled out through an unfair process.”
The younger Biden was convicted in June in a federal case of three felonies related to the purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, and violated the law by concealing drug use. He avoided trial by pleading guilty to nine federal tax charges in September, and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12th in the federal gun case and December 16th in the tax case.
In a statement, Biden claimed that his son was receiving “special treatment,” and that most people in his situation would simply fill out a gun-purchase form without facing a felony charge and pay taxes. He said those who pay back with interest or penalties would typically face felony charges. A “non-criminal resolution” was granted.
Updated at 12:51pm EST
