Joe Biden was considering pardoning his son six months ago while publicly insisting that presidential clemency was out of the question.
“The president has discussed pardoning his son with some of his closest aides at least since Hunter Biden’s conviction in June, said two people with direct knowledge of the discussions about the matter,” the source spilled to NBC.
Biden’s inner circle decided that the outgoing president would stick to the script and convince Americans that a presidential pardon was unthinkable while the option remained on the table.
“They said it was decided at the time that he would publicly say he would not pardon his son even though doing so remained on the table.”
Meanwhile, White House staff continued aggressively asserting Biden’s position whenever the question popped up.
“From a presidential perspective, is there any possibility that the president would end up pardoning his own son?” a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in 2023.
“No,” KJP replied.
When the reporter pressed on, KJP lashed at him, insisting it was a hard ‘NO.’
“Well, is there?” the reporter insisted.
“I just said no!” she said. “I just answered.”
Nonetheless, Biden offered his only living son “a