The White House has so far stated unequivocally that President Biden will not pardon his son Hunter.
But that stance will be tested now that Hunter Biden has been indicted on three counts of gun charges — and faces possible prison time.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bluntly stated in late July that Biden would not take the controversial step after the spectacular collapse of Hunter’s plea deal with prosecutors.
Now the president’s son faces up to 25 years behind bars on charges that were allegedly dropped through a diversion program in a plea deal that collapsed and led to the appointment of David Weiss as special prosecutor.
“From a presidential perspective, is there any possibility that the president will ultimately pardon his son?” Jean-Pierre was asked.
The White House has so far stated unequivocally that President Biden will not pardon his son Hunter. But that stance will be tested now that Hunter Biden has been indicted on three counts of gun charges — and faces a possible prison sentence
“No,” she replied.
When pressed, she doubled over. ‘I just said no. I replied,” she replied.
The statement was a departure for Jean-Pierre, who routinely avoids comment on Hunter Biden and other legal-tinged questions by referring them to the Justice Department or simply declining to comment.
Throughout the Biden administration, the president and his top aides have tried to avoid getting involved in legal matters, saying they prioritize an independent judiciary and sometimes using that stance as a defense tactic.
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman (New York) has said it would be a “mistake” if Biden were to pardon his son.
“Yes, and I don’t think there’s any chance that President Biden is going to do that, unlike his predecessor, who pardoned all his friends, and anyone who had any access to him,” said Goldman, who served as lead attorney for Trump’s first impeachment, ABC reported last month.
Presidents of both parties have been tempted to use their virtually unlimited pardon power, which is enshrined in Article II of the Constitution.
The Constitution states that the president “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment,” in language likened to a “blank check” because of the lack of restrictions.
While constitutional scholars differ on whether a president can pardon himself, there is no debate over whether a president can pardon a family member — although such a move may be politically repugnant, which could be why presidents have used power when they were in power. away out the door.
Shortly before leaving office, President Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for a 1985 cocaine and drug trafficking conviction for which he had already served a prison sentence.
In the final weeks of his own administration, Trump pardoned a group of friends and colleagues, including daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner. Both Ivanka and Jared Kushner were White House advisers at the time.
With Hunter Biden potentially facing trial during his father’s re-election campaign, the president will surely be questioned again by the press and by his rivals on the issue.
Biden and his son are very close. According to testimony from Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer, they speak on the phone every day.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bluntly stated in late July that Biden would not take the controversial step after the spectacular collapse of Hunter’s plea deal with prosecutors.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are using that proximity as evidence to argue that Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings, something the White House strongly denies as the Republican Party moves forward with its impeachment inquiry.
Archer said that as vice president, Biden participated in dinners or meetings with Hunter’s associates about 20 times in person or on the phone — despite Biden’s own claims that he never discussed matters with his son.
Biden, who lost his son Beau to cancer and his first wife Neilia and daughter Naomi in a 1972 car crash that also injured both boys, has kept Hunter close even amid his legal and personal troubles.
He has regularly attended White House events and vacationed with Biden this summer at his beach house in Delaware and on a trip to Lake Tahoe.
Sometimes that proximity has caused their legal troubles to collide, as when photos from Hunter’s infamous laptop showed Hunter in his father’s 1967 Corvette outside the Wilmington garage where classified documents were located.
The president “fell into grief and frustration” when Hunter’s plea deal suddenly collapsed The New York Times reports this this week, in a story that described their bond as “unique in intensity.”
That close bond could come under even further pressure in the coming weeks. Hunter has yet to be indicted on the two tax charges to which he agreed to plead guilty — and the government acknowledged in a courthouse in Wilmington that its investigation could also include issues surrounding the disclosure of foreign lobbying activities.