President Joe Biden and his White House have long said that the president has no plans to pardon his son Hunter, who has been convicted on felony charges. All that changed on Sunday when Biden announced that he had issued a pardon for his son.
Despite the repeated assurances that Biden would not pardon his son, it has been reported that he’s been mulling it over since June. Even so, the president had decided at the time not to make these considerations public, per NBC. At each press briefing in which press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the likelihood of a Biden pardon for Hunter, she said that it would not happen. Even in November, Jean-Pierre said “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands which is ‘no.’” First Lady Jill Biden has also said that her husband would not issue a pardon to Hunter, who is her step-son.
Biden addressed his change of heart in the statement, saying “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” The statement then