The White House has revealed that Rep. Jim Clyburn was the key figure who convinced Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter.
Hunter, 54, was convicted in June of three charges after lying about a 2018 gun purchase — claiming he wasn’t using or addicted to drugs even though it was proven he had an active crack cocaine addiction at the time.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that a visit by the 84-year-old Clyburn was the deciding factor for the president to go back on his repeated promises.
“These are Clyburn’s words: ‘The president was reluctant’ when he tried to encourage him to pardon Hunter,” Jean-Pierre said. ‘I think that’s important to notice.’
Biden announced the decision after spending intensive family time on Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday with First Lady Jill Biden, Hunter and daughter Ashley.
His final decision came after he struggled for a long time with what to do with his son because of the crimes he committed between 2014 and 2024.
“You’ve heard this president say this before. He believes that when it comes to his family, when it comes to the way he moves forward, when it comes to thinking about his family, they are the beginning, the middle and the end,” Jean-Pierre said. said.
“And he struggled with this,” she added. “It wasn’t easy for him to make a decision.”
Biden announced on Sunday that he would pardon his son Hunter Biden – a decision he had struggled with for some time
The White House revealed that Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina was the key figure who ultimately convinced President Biden to pardon his son Hunter
Clyburn — who has long been a voice in Biden’s ear — pushed for Hunter’s pardon during their conversation two weeks ago, she added.
Jean-Pierre was peppered with questions about pardons during Friday’s White House briefing, her first chance to answer questions from reporters in the briefing room since Biden announced Hunter’s pardon on Sunday.
She was given the opportunity to apologize — and say the president owed her an apology — for the president’s grave mistake, which she excused by saying that “circumstances have changed.”
Jean-Pierre made no apologies for the president’s change of heart, saying in her case, “No apology is necessary.”
“Look, if you look at his statement, it’s quite extensive. It’s in his own voice. I think it takes you into his thinking. And he did – he struggled with this. He struggled with this,” Jean-Pierre said. “And again, he said in his statement in his own voice that he made that decision last weekend.”
“And the fact is, when you think about how the president came to this decision, the circumstances have changed. They have,” she argued.
Hunter Biden, 54, was convicted in June of three charges after lying about a 2018 gun purchase — claiming he wasn’t using or addicted to drugs even though it was proven he had an active crack cocaine addiction at the time
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Friday’s briefing: “You’ve heard this president say this before, he believes that when it comes to family, when it comes to how he moves forward, about thinking about his family, they ‘are the beginning, the middle and the end’
Jean-Pierre also pointed out that Hunter’s sentencing was looming – scheduled for December 12 – so the president decided “that Hunter and his family had been through enough.”
During the briefing, Jean-Pierre spoke several times about Biden’s conversation with the representative — noting that Clyburn, one of Biden’s key political allies, was a key turning point for the president’s decision to go back on his promise to the president . American people.
When Jean-Pierre was initially asked about an apology — whether she owed one — or did she owe one to the American people, she replied, “I just stated the president’s thoughts.”
‘And I know what I said. I know what the president said. That’s where we were at the time. That is where the president was at the time,” she argued. “I’m his spokesman.”
“This weekend he thought about it, he struggled with it, he struggled with it and he made this decision. That’s what I can tell the American people,” she continued.
“I think the American people understand and I think they understand how difficult this decision would be,” Jean-Pierre added.
Clyburn has also urged the administration to issue more pardons before Biden leaves office since Hunter’s pardon, he revealed Friday.
In addition, he asked White House officials to convince Biden to grant preemptive pardons to several current and former administration officials, fearing they could be caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s incoming administration, the New York Post reported.
“I also told them that I thought he should go further, because of all the noise about Jack Smith and Liz Cheney and Doctor Fauci and all that,” Clyburn said.
He also indicated this week that he would even support Biden pardoning Trump before he returns to the Oval Office.
When asked about a pardon for Trump, Clyburn said, “Yes, that’s possible, absolutely. Because the Supreme Court has made it pretty much clear that he will be preemptively pardoned for anything he is allowed to do as president.”