During their Thanksgiving gathering in Nantucket, President Joe Biden and his family discussed whether to pardon Hunter Biden, a source acquainted with the matter told AWN on Monday.
Senior White House staff were informed of the prospect of a pardon on Saturday evening. The insider indicated that President Biden made his final choice on Sunday.
Biden did not respond to inquiries about the matter as he left late Sunday for a three-day trip to Africa. He also ignored shouted questions during his brief stop in Cabo Verde on Monday and upon arrival in Angola.
During a gaggle with reporters on Air Force One, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Biden “wrestled” with the decision until making it himself over the weekend.
“It was not an easy decision to make,” Jean-Pierre explained.
She went on to say that President Biden eventually believed his son had been “singled out politically” and that they “tried to break his son in order to break him.”
First Lady Jill Biden, who was introducing the White House’s holiday motif alongside military families on Monday, fielded a quick question about Hunter Biden’s pardon.
“Of course I support the pardon of my son,” she informed me.
Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son, was convicted on federal firearms charges in June and pleaded guilty to nine tax-related crimes in September. Both counts posed the prospect of severe prison time, and he was scheduled to be sentenced in both later this month.
President Biden had previously stated that he would not pardon his son, notably in an interview with ABC’s David Muir when Hunter Biden’s gun trial was underway this summer.
In his statement on Sunday evening, Biden said his son was “unfairly” prosecuted due to pressure from his political opponents.
“Throughout my career, I have followed a basic principle: give the American people the truth. They will be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I’ve grappled with it, I’ve come to believe that raw politics has infected this process, resulting in a miscarriage of justice — and after I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any further,” President Biden stated.
Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, and their son Beau, as well as Ashley Biden, spent Thanksgiving on Nantucket with President Biden and First Lady Jill.
“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” the man in charge stated.
When asked what happened between Biden’s previous insistence that he would not pardon his son and his revelation Sunday, Jean-Pierre repeatedly referenced Biden’s statement.
“He wrestled with it. He thought about it. And he believed, based on what he saw, that his son was singled out,” she explained. “So he made this decision, and after he made it, which was this weekend, he chose to go ahead with it, rather than waiting. And, you know, I think he honestly believed that enough was enough.
Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, seized upon the reversal.
Congressional Republicans spent years scrutinizing the Biden family, particularly Hunter Biden, for their financial transactions. In August, House Republicans produced a report on their impeachment investigation that contained several claims, many of which were directed at Hunter Biden, but no recommendations for specific impeachment articles or evidence of President Biden’s direct involvement in alleged unlawful acts.
It is unclear whether Republicans would pursue their investigations once President Biden leaves office in January.
On Monday, Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden “didn’t believe they would let up.”
“They would continue to pursue his son. “That is what he believed,” Jean-Pierre stated.
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson challenged the pardon, which dates back to 2014.
“President Biden stressed repeatedly that he would never pardon his own son for his heinous crimes. But yesterday night, he suddenly awarded Hunter a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for all offenses committed over a decade ago!” Johnson writes about X. “The Bidens’ use and abuse of our legal system have almost irreversibly harmed public trust in it. “Real reform cannot start soon enough!”
