‘I Can Answer That. It Is a No’: Biden Wouldn’t Have Pardoned Son If Harris Won Election
President wouldn't have changed his mind if VP Harris had won the White House
It was Donald Trump’s election to the presidency last month that pushed President Biden to reverse course and pardon his son, Hunter.
That’s according to Biden’s White House press secretary.
The younger Biden had been convicted of federal gun- and tax-related offenses, and was set to receive sentencing later this month.
Biden had repeatedly pledged not to pardon Hunter or commute his sentence.
Despite that, the outgoing president issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for any offenses Hunter Biden has “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” according to a White House statement.
Reaction to the pardon — and President Biden’s reversal — has been mixed.
It was Trump’s election to a second term last month that prompted the change of heart, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Trump has repeatedly pledged revenge and retribution against his political opponents while Hunter Biden could have been serving a federal prison sentence.
A reporter flat-out asked Jean-Pierre if a pardon had been on the table if Vice President Kamala Harris had won instead.
“Do you think this would have happened if Harris hadn’t lost the election?” the reporter inquired during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One.
“Look, I’m not going to — I’m not going to get into the election,” Jean-Pierre began before changing her mind. “It is a ‘no.’ I can answer that. It is a ‘no.’”
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