White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday defended the decision by President Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter, despite both the White House and the President saying he had no plans to do so.
Since the announcement, President Biden has faced backlash from both Republicans and some Democrats about his controversial decision.
“He said he came to this decision this weekend, and he said he wrestled with this and, because he believes in the justice system, but he also believes that the raw politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Africa.
Jean-Pierre added that Biden believes his son was unfairly prosecuted because of his relation to the President and that played into the decision.
“Hunter was singled out, and because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son. That’s what we saw. And so the president believed enough is enough, and the president took action, and he also believes that they tried to break his son in order to break him,” she said.
Hunter Biden was found guilty in June on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty in a separate tax evasion case in September.
On Sunday, President Biden announced the decision to pardon his son for 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.”
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” Biden said in a statement about the decision.
Republicans slammed the decision with President-elect Donald Trump calling it “an abuse and miscarriage of justice”.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “trust in our justice system has almost been irreparably damaged by the Bidens and abuse of it”.
Biden also received criticism from members of his own party with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) saying the decision by the President puts “personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all”.
Congressman Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) 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.”
However, Biden has pardoned fewer people than most presidents in American history.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) defended Biden’s decision
“Let me be clear – this is a father and a president who did not only what was right by his son, but also did right to basically correct what I would consider a wrong,” she said.
