No pardon planned for Hunter Biden, White House says
The White House said Thursday there are still no plans for President Biden to pardon his son, Hunter, before leaving office, in the wake of President-elect Trump’s victory.
"Our answer stands, which is no,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Asked about the possibility of a commutation, Jean-Pierre said, “That’s not what we’re going to do.”
Hunter Biden, the son of the president, was found guilty in June of lying about his use of illicit drugs when applying to purchase a gun six years ago and unlawfully possessing it thereafter, marking the first criminal conviction of a sitting president’s child.
A federal judge agreed to push back Hunter Biden’s sentencing to Dec. 4.
Hunter Biden in September pleaded guilty to all nine federal tax charges he faced, staving off his second criminal trial this year, just before it was set to begin.
President Biden and other White House officials have repeatedly said he would not pardon his son before leaving office.
Trump said late last month that he would not rule out a pardon for Hunter Biden if he were to win the election.
“I wouldn’t take it off the books. See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they’ve done to me, where they’ve gone after me so viciously, despite what — and Hunter’s a bad boy. There’s no question about it. He’s been a bad boy,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.