- Joe Biden announced a pardon for his son Hunter on Sunday evening
- Came after he said at least twice last summer that he would not grant a pardon
Joe Biden was determined to give a truthful answer when he repeatedly said he would not pardon his son before turning around and doing so on Sunday.
A body language expert provided an analysis to DailyMail.com claiming that Biden wanted to portray himself as someone who “made this decision” not to pardon Hunter, despite several reports now claiming he considered the action for at least six months.
“Biden looks like a man who has already made this decision and the decision itself is non-negotiable,” Judi James said of the two instances in which Biden told reporters he was not considering a pardon for his 54-year-old son.
“There isn’t even any discussion by the interviewer, who moves on to the next topic, clearly confident that the questions have been covered in the most comprehensive manner possible,” she added.
Biden announced his decision to pardon his son on Sunday.
While it is not immediately clear whether Biden was being truthful based on an analysis of his body language, James speculates that he believed his response was serious at the time.
“He was determined to define himself as completely honest, which in political terms is the same as being honest, because he would know how impossibly bad these unequivocal answers would look if he did the opposite in the future,” she told DailyMail .com.
“It implies he’s putting his reputation on the line here.”
A body language expert told DailyMail.com that President Joe Biden showed no explicit signs of dishonesty when he said he had no intention of pardoning his son Hunter.
President Biden announced Sunday evening that he had reached the decision to pardon his son Hunter, 54, on three charges of lying on a form to purchase a firearm
But now his reputation has been tarnished and the Americans say they can no longer rely on the word of the US commander-in-chief, who will remain in the role for almost two more months.
Hunter was convicted on June 11, 2024, of three counts of lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm in 2018.
Before the sentencing and at least twice since, Biden and his spokespeople and surrogates said he would not pardon his son.
In an interview with ABC News host David Muir in June, Biden is asked: “Have you ruled out a pardon for your son?”
“Yes,” Biden replied matter-of-factly.
“It’s rare for a politician to give a one-word answer to a ‘yes or no’ question, but Biden does it twice here,” James noted.
A reporter asked Biden during a press conference, also over the summer, “Was your son able to receive a fair trial? Do you believe the Justice Department operated independently of politics?”
“I’m satisfied that I’m not going to do anything,” Biden said from the podium. ‘I said I would abide by the jury’s decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
At the time, Biden was still leading the 2024 presidential ticket, but later in the summer he dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who subsequently lost to Donald Trump.
Biden said at least twice after the conviction last summer that he would not pardon his son. Pictured: At a press conference, Biden said: ‘I said I would abide by the jury’s decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”
Regarding Biden’s two denials over the summer regarding his son, James said, “There is absolutely no wiggle room when it comes to offering himself a get-out clause if he were to decide to change his mind.”
“The impact of the first ‘Yes’ on accepting the jury’s verdict, one way or the other, is enormous and to make it even more powerful, he maintains an almost frozen expression,” she noted.
Additionally, James notes that there is no evidence that Biden was untruthful when he said he had no intention of pardoning Hunter.
“His dedication seems just as determined here,” she notes, “with a similar look that seems like a gesture of honesty, or one he uses to emphasize the sense of honesty in his response.”