Biden, 82, struggles to remember details of Hunter’s crimes as he defends decision to pardon him

President Biden defended forgiving his son Hunter, rejecting that it set a dangerous precedent as he shared what made him change course.

Hunter was convicted of federal gun crimes by a Delaware jury and separately pleaded guilty to $1.4 million in tax evasion.

But the 82-year-old Biden had insisted for months that he would not let Hunter off the hook.

He told USA Today in an exit interview published Wednesday that he only changed his mind when new details about Hunter’s case emerged.

“I meant what I said when I was asked about pardoning my son, but then I discovered two factors,” Biden told USA Today.

The president argued that his 54-year-old son ultimately paid all his taxes, despite being late.

He also insisted that no one had ever been charged for signing the gun form, and that they were not under the influence, which was at the heart of the separate gun case against his son.

Biden provided further insight into his thinking during a wide-ranging interview with USA Today as he prepares to leave office in less than two weeks.

But the president appeared to muddle key details in his son’s case, including as his son struggled with a drug addiction that spiraled in 2016 after the death of the president’s first son and Hunter’s older brother Beau.

“He battled a drug problem and he overcame it. He’s been square and sober for almost six years now,” Biden told USA Today of Hunter’s struggle.

But then the president confused the timeline, according to the interview transcript.

‘This was in ’80, excuse me, 2000 and… What year was it? Anyway, a long time ago,” he said.

Hunter was found guilty on three felony charges in June related to the 2018 gun purchase, after prosecutors alleged he lied on a required gun purchase form.

Last September, he pleaded guilty in a separate federal tax case to three felony charges for taxes he owed for the years 2016 through 2019.

For months, the White House insisted that Biden would not pardon his son, but on December 1, the president made the bombshell announcement that he was pardoning Hunter.

Biden argued that Hunter was singled out “just because he is my son.”

While addressing the gun-related allegations in the interview that took place on January 5, Biden argued: ‘no one has ever been tried for that. Nobody.’

“So he had former attorneys general and former leaders of both parties, not officeholders, say, ‘It’s not done. It’s not done.’ And that’s why I intervened,” Biden said.

Biden praised his son and emphasized that Hunter is doing well despite all his challenges.

‘He’s doing great, God loves him. Thank God. He’s doing very well. He has been honest and level-headed,” the president said.

For months, the White House has rejected claims that Biden would not pardon his son as he faced the two separate cases last year.

So December 1 marked a huge turnaround when the 82-year-old president pardoned his son for all crimes committed between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.

It drew intense reactions from members of both political parties as critics accused the White House of lying about the president’s plan that led to the shocking announcement.

Just weeks earlier, the White House denied that the president would pardon Hunter in the final months of his lame-duck presidency, and Biden himself had said he would not pardon him.

Even days after the November election, the White House still claimed Biden would not pardon him.

Ultimately, Biden insisted that his son had promised to make amends for the crimes and that no one had ever faced charges related to the weapon form.

“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” he said in a statement announcing the pardon policy.

Afterward, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the administration’s previous claims that Biden would not issue a pardon.

She insisted that the president was a truthful man who only came to his decision that weekend.