First Lady Jill Biden on Monday said “of course” she is supportive of Hunter Biden’s pardoning.
Dr. Biden was welcoming National Guard families to the White House on Monday to be the first to see this year’s holiday decorations. Following her speech, reporters shouted questions about President Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter. The president’s son was convicted in June of three felony counts related to a 2018 gun purchase and pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in September.
“Dr. Biden, do you support the pardon of Hunter?” a reporter yelled out as the first lady was hugging children following her prepared remarks on the White House decorations. Several other reporters shouted similar questions.
The first lady walked back to the podium to address the questions and emphatically said, “Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
President Biden announced that he had signed a sweeping pardon of his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, despite previously pledging not to.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. 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 president wrote in a statement.
“It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” President Biden continued in Sunday’s announcement.
The executive grant of clemency issued a “full and unconditional pardon” to Hunter Biden “for those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024” — a nearly 11-year period.
The president’s pardon has received criticism from the right and a mixed reaction from those within his own party.
