Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday defended herself and the White House as she was extensively pressed on past statements she made that insisted President Joe Biden would not pardon his son, Hunter.
“I know what I said. I know what the president said. That is where we were at the time,” Jean-Pierre said at the White House press briefing.
Zeke Miller, AP’s chief White House correspondent, had questioned Jean-Pierre several times about her telling the news media at a July briefing that the elder Biden would not pardon his son on federal gun and tax charges.
“In your first briefing here, as press secretary, you committed to speaking to the American people, and I quote, ‘in a transparent way, in a truthful way, and an honest way,’” Miller said to Jean-Pierre. “And then in July, here at this podium, you were asked about the president pardoning his son. And [you] said, ‘It’s a no, it will be a no, it’s a no.’”
“That is exactly right,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“It became a ‘yes.’ I’m wondering if you would like to explain to us, the American people, really, why the information that you provided turned out not to be true,” he continued.
Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s pardon, which covers all potential crimes in the last 11 years, despite a jury convicting him earlier this year. Hunter Biden faced the potential of decades in prison, although as a first-time offender he would have likely been sentenced by a judge to less, if any, time.
“[President Biden] wrestled with this. And again, he said in his statement, in his own voice, that he made that decision this past weekend. And the fact is, when you think about how the president got to this decision, circumstances have changed,” the press secretary said. “Republicans said they weren’t going to let up, weren’t going to stop. Recently-announced Trump appointees for law enforcement have said on the campaign that they were out for retribution.”
“The sentencing was coming up,” she said. “Hunter and his family had been through enough.”
“Do you feel like you are owed an apology by the president? Do you owe an apology to the American people?” Miller followed up.
“I just laid out the president’s thinking,” Jean-Pierre said.
