The White House has defended President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter, after repeatedly insisting he had no plans to grant such executive clemency.
The press secretary said Biden had pardoned his son, who was facing sentencing later this month in two federal cases, to shield him from potential persecution by the outgoing president’s political foes.
The sweeping pardon covers any potential federal crimes that 54-year-old Hunter may have committed over the course of a decade.
Republicans have lambasted the move, with President-elect Donald Trump calling it “an abuse and miscarriage of justice”.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that Biden had “wrestled” over the decision during the family’s Thanksgiving break on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, at the weekend.
The Democratic president issued the pardon on Sunday evening before heading off on an official trip to Africa.
Ms Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Angola: “He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that the raw politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice.”
Ms Jean-Pierre said Biden believed Hunter was “singled out” because of who he is and that “they [the president’s opponents] would continue to go after his son”.
“This is why the president took this action,” she added. As recently as last month, Ms Jean-Pierre was still telling reporters that Biden would not pardon his son.
In June, Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting US president to be criminally convicted after a jury in Delaware found him guilty of three charges for lying about his drug use on a form when buying a handgun.
In September, he also pleaded guilty to federal tax charges that included failure to file and pay his taxes, tax evasion and filing a false return.
The pardon – which covers any potential federal crimes that he may have committed between January 2014 and December 2024 – spans a period beyond the tax and gun offences.
It dates back to the year in which he became a board member at Ukrainian energy company Burisma – a time when his father, then US vice-president, had a key role in American policy towards Kyiv.
A congressional inquiry this summer accused Biden of lying when he disavowed any involvement in his son’s business dealings, though the impeachment effort by Republican lawmakers fizzled. Biden denied wrongdoing.
The special counsel overseeing both cases, David Weiss, has flatly rejected claims that the younger Biden was singled out because of his family background.
“There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case,” Mr Weiss’ team wrote in a court filing on Monday.
US First Lady Jill Biden said on Monday from the White House: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
The president’s decision sparked furious reaction from Trump and other top Republicans, who have long accused the Biden administration of “weaponising” the justice department against their enemies.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said that “trust in our justice system has almost been irreparably damaged by the Bidens and abuse of it”.
House oversight committee chairman James Comer said Biden had “lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities”.
Criticism from Democrats – who have regularly accused Trump of disregarding the rule of law – was more muted.
“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” Colorado Senator Michael Bennet posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Congressman Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, rejected Biden’s claim that the case was unfair.
“This wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution,” he said. “Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.”
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told the BBC that he believed Biden had misled the American people.
“President Biden was disingenuous this entire time when he said that he would not pardon his son,” Mr Rahmani said.
“A pardon was the plan from the beginning, but President Biden misled the American people because he, then Kamala Harris, were in the middle of an election.”
When he takes office in January, Trump will not be able to rescind his predecessor’s pardon, said Mr Rahmani.
The president’s power to pardon people is “absolute”, he said.
“There is nothing Donald Trump or the Republicans can do to stop it,” Mr Rahmani added.
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