How Jill Biden led the family campaign to pressure Joe into changing his mind on a Hunter pardon

For months, President Joe Biden has relentlessly insisted there was no chance of pardoning his son Hunter.

But he eventually changed his mind and emerged from a Thanksgiving holiday at a $36 million Nantucket compound on Sunday to drop the bombshell announcement that he would save Hunter from possible prison time.

DailyMail.com can now reveal what really happened during that five-day stay on a cold Massachusetts island and the run-up to the holiday that prompted Biden to make the call – regardless of the stain on his legacy.

The decision came after a week of intense family time, including a baby shower for his first great-grandchild and cocooning with his wife and children in Nantucket’s inner harbor.

At the heart of the 82-year-old’s decision was family, both Joe Biden’s unconditional love for his own and the deep loyalty the Bidens have for each other.

Leading the charge was Jill Biden, known as her son’s “biggest defender.” They were with her at the Nantucket complex Hunter himself, his wife Melissa and Ashley, the Bidens’ daughter.

No one who knows Joe Biden doubts the importance of family. He watched over his two young sons in the hospital after the 1972 car crash that killed his first wife and daughter. He buried Beau – the political heir to the Biden dynasty – in 2015 after his eldest son succumbed to brain cancer. And he has silently agonized over Hunter’s addiction, the fear of its return a constant weight on his shoulders.

His family was grateful for his decision.

‘Thanks dad. What they did to my brother was cruel and politically motivated. Period. Proud sister + daughter,” Ashley Biden wrote on her Instagram Story after Hunter’s pardon was announced.

And two of Hunter’s biggest supporters had the president’s ear over the past 10 days: Jill Biden and Naomi Biden Neal.

Neal, Hunter’s eldest daughter, had her baby shower in the Blue Room of the White House on Saturday, November 23. She will be expecting the president’s first great-grandchild — and Hunter’s first grandchild — in the coming weeks.

Biden was seen stopping by, cup of coffee in hand, to chat with guests while enjoying their eggs benedict and pancakes.

And then there’s the first lady.

“Hunter has no bigger defender than Jill,” a source familiar said.

Jill Biden’s influence with Joe Biden should not be underestimated. She is the last voice in his ear.

And she has been steadfast in her support of Hunter, who crossed the Atlantic several times during his arms trial in June to stand by his side as he took part in a state visit to France.

During that same trial, Naomi Biden Neal took the stand to defend her father. And after Hunter’s conviction, the president vowed not to pardon his son.

Unlike previous years, Naomi Biden did not accompany the Bidens to Nantucket. Neither do her sisters Finnegan and Maisy. But Biden talks to his grandchildren every day.

And this trip was different from the last. The Bidens have been going to the island off the coast of Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday for 49 years. But none of their eldest grandchildren with them. So instead of a large family gathering of a dozen members, there were only six.

And Hunter remained behind closed doors for most of the stay in Nantucket. In previous years, he, his wife Melissa and son Beau went downtown for coffee and shopping.

This year he was only seen on Fridays at family lunch and shopping, and on Saturdays at church with his father.

And the only senior aides staffing the president were longtime aides Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal. She, deputy chief of staff, heads the West Wing, and Bernal, Jill Biden’s top adviser, heads the East Wing.

They have all worked with the Bidens in the White House for decades.

They have more power in the Biden administration, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients. And they are more feared.

And neither Tomasini nor Bernal are there to tell Joe Biden what he doesn’t want to hear.

“They’re not telling the president no unless it’s from Jill Biden,” a source familiar said.

Biden has always turned to his family in difficult times: Sister Valerie helped him care for his boys after their mother and sister died, and he traveled daily to Washington DC as a newly elected senator.

He locked himself in Camp David with Jill, Hunter and his grandchildren after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump in June.

And he was with the first lady at Rehoboth Beach when he decided to drop out of the race. The entire Biden family surrounded him in the Oval Office as he explained his decision to the nation.

And family was top of mind this past week.

When DailyMail.com asked Thursday what he was grateful for, Biden’s first response was: “My family.”

One family member there was young Beau Biden, Hunter’s four-year-old son and the future of the Biden clan.

Both the president and first lady adore their grandson. President Biden held his hand as they walked the streets of Nantucket shopping on Friday. Jill Biden took it with her last Monday when she received the national Christmas tree at the White House.

Jill Biden is known as the family member who harbors grudges — and pushes out those she believes are betraying Team Biden.

Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s first wife, found herself in the suburbs after divorcing Hunter and writing about his struggles with addiction and how drug use, cheating and spending affected the family.

Her book came after Hunter published his own memoir, but that didn’t matter. Kathleen was absent, also due to planning for Naomi Biden’s wedding. When Hunter’s eldest daughter got married at the White House in November 2022, it was nicknamed “Jill’s Wedding.”

The first lady took center stage and appeared on the cover of Vogue with Naomi.

Melissa Cohen, on the other hand, has been embraced. She and Hunter met in 2019 and married six days later. Hunter has credited her with helping with his sobriety.

Ultimately, it was Biden who decided to pardon his son. But he made it in the bubble of his family.

And then he left for Africa, leaving his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to explain the change in his position.

But he still has the support of his family.

“Of course I support pardoning my son,” Jill Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday.