CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reported Sunday that President Joe Biden faced “pressure” from within his family to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. According to Zeleny, First Lady Jill Biden was a strong advocate for the pardon, urging the president to take action in recent weeks.
“There was pressure inside the family, we were told—really in recent weeks—that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, was really supportive of the president doing something like this,” Zeleny said. “The president was not sure.”
Zeleny explained that the issue came to a head over the weekend, leading to Biden’s decision to grant the pardon. “I’m told this has been very much a family discussion and not something widely shared or discussed as a policy matter inside the West Wing,” he said.
CNN reports that Jill Biden pressured Joe Biden to grant their son Hunter a pardon, after he decided he won’t.pic.twitter.com/TTqJnyKFJK
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Zeleny added that concerns over potential future prosecutions under the incoming Trump administration also played a role in the decision.
CNN on the Hunter pardon: “There was a worry of future prosecutions, or the potential of what the incoming Trump DOJ could