Biden WILL NOT pardon Hunter: Karine Jean-Pierre confirms Joe will not step in to save son if convicted in rare direct answer to scandal

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered flatly “no” when asked if President Joe Biden would pardon his son Hunter for any of his crimes.

She gave the direct answer less than 24 hours after Hunter pleaded not guilty to tax and gun charges when his plea deal was torn up.

Jean-Pierre’s blunt response also means Biden wouldn’t save his son if he is indicted over his lucrative business deals with Ukraine and China.

Her answer was notable because it could tie Biden’s hands if he wanted to intervene in the legal process that has been snapping at his son for five years.

He has repeatedly pointed out that Biden respects the independence of the Justice Department and follows the rule of law.

In court, U.S. Attorney Leo Wise said under questioning on Wednesday that the investigation into Hunter Biden is “ongoing” and gave cryptic answers about the charges that may await him. He said in open court that among the charges the plea deal would not cover are cases related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Jean-Pierre’s response came after Biden himself ignored a shouted question about his clemency power, which is unrestricted under the Constitution.

She was much less candid on other matters, including to a few questions from DailyMail.com about the substance of the tax cases that brought Hunter to court, and whether the president was concerned that the deal brokered by the DOJ would fall through. would go. a judge.

“I answered this question,” when asked about the information showing he has failed to pay up to $1.5 million in taxes that he has since repaid with a loan from a “third party” – a wealthy friend.

“We are not going to comment on this. This is an independent investigation led by a Trump-appointed prosecutor who is clearly directed by the Justice Department,” she said.

“I’m really not going to say anything more than what I shared yesterday,” she said in response to yet another question from Hunter Biden at her White House briefing, where the topic was brought up repeatedly. “This is a personal matter for Hunter Biden, this is a personal matter.”

President Biden faced reporters for the first time since a federal judge handed down a plea deal that would keep his son Hunter out of jail as he turned away amid a barrage of investigations.

The president appeared at the White House on Thursday to discuss the heat-scorching parts of the country, but found himself on the spot amid the sudden legal turmoil for his son.

Among the questions he faced was one over whether he would pardon his son, who remains in legal jeopardy after a federal prosecutor said in court that the investigation into him is “ongoing.”

U.S. Attorney Leo Wise also said one area that would not be covered by the plea deal would be the Foreign Assets Registration Act indictments, which could be implied by the series of high-flying business deals that U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika read. the court record Wednesday in Wilmington.

President Joe Biden welcomes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Thursday. He faced multiple questions about his son Hunter’s legal troubles

Hunter Biden’s plea deal drew scathing criticism from a federal judge, who resisted being placed in the middle as an arbitrator on whether he is found in violation of an agreement

President Joe Biden on Thursday ignored questions about his son’s plea deal

Nevertheless, if Hunter’s legal team and prosecutors can negotiate a plea deal, he could find a way to put his tax issues and a gun charge behind him.

Biden also ignored a question about whether the Justice Department had struck down his son’s plea deal after the judge revealed differing interpretations between the two legal teams about what behavior would be exempt from prosecution.

The president’s son left court on Wednesday without speaking to the media, and his legal team also remained silent.

President Biden will face the media again later Thursday when he sits down with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Earlier on Thursday, there was no focus on how Biden might handle his son’s legal troubles in a second term, but how his rival Donald Trump would proceed if he steps back in.

The plea deal that a federal judge blew up in court Wednesday included a feature that appears to be designed to impose guardrails against attempts by a would-be Donald Trump administration to overrun it.

Trump has been furious for years against what he calls the “Biden crime family” and Hunter in particular, and has vowed to settle scores if he gets the White House back. He now conducts periodic interrogations against former Attorney General Barr, who stepped down weeks before the end of Trump’s term after reversing his allegations of voter fraud.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika repeatedly fired parts of the agreement Tuesday during a three-hour hearing with Hunter Biden and his attorneys in her Wilmington courtroom. Notably, this included a provision that she said would put her in the middle of disputes over a “diversion agreement” that would allow Hunter to avoid prosecution for gun possession.

She was especially incensed that she would later get involved, but Hunter and government lawyers told her she had no part in approving the terms of his tax crime plea deal to which he would plead guilty.

One of the provisions she ranted against was a paragraph about a possible breach of the deal to defer prosecution on a gun charge – and who would decide if Hunter violated it.

Normally, the prosecutors would make the decision. But according to the language being pushed by Hunter’s team, if the government believes there has been a “knowing material breach” of the agreement, it would seek a decision from the U.S. District Judge in Delaware – Noreika.

They would seek a determination based on a “preponderance of the evidence,” and if they get one, they could be charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, or other criminal offenses.

The judge called the deal “non-standard” and said it could be unconstitutional by giving her a role normally filled by prosecutors themselves, who are part of the executive branch.

The judge had federal prosecutor Leo Wise read from the agreement in open court, and Politics receive the entire document.

“I don’t want to violate the separation of powers or do anything (un)constitutional,” the judge said. She also said she had never seen a diversion deal “so broad” as to include crimes in any other case.

Former President Donald Trump has railed against Biden’s ‘crime family’, clashing with his attorneys general and attacking special counsel Robert Mueller and Jack Smith

Biden attorney Chris Clark negotiated an agreement with prosecutors that puts a judge in the mix to decide whether there has been a violation. It could isolate his client in case Trump tries to order prosecutors to go after Hunter

“I thought Hunter Biden’s lawyers had made it very clear why they wanted to get the judge involved, which is to have this neutral party in the event that the courthouse is under a different administration,” the former prosecutor for the southern district of New York said. New York, Jessica Roth. CNN.

Another former prosecutor, Joyce Vance of the Northern District of Alabama, wrote on substack that Hunter Biden had become Trump’s “favourite whip boy” and faces “ongoing risk of further prosecution if Trump returns to office,” and argued that the idea of ​​being a more neutral arbitrator has merit.

Trump is focused on vengeance and retaliation, and Hunter Biden appears to be central to his focus…Given Trump’s public statements about the “Biden crime family,” there are good reasons for concern if you are Hunter Biden or his lawyers. So it makes sense to include a provision requiring court approval as a guarantee against vengeful prosecutions in the future.”

The judge was appointed by Trump, but was recommended by two Democratic senators. She received praise Tuesday from former Robert Mueller top prosecutor Andrew Weissmann for her courtroom performance, who called her work “exceptional.”