White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to apologize after repeatedly saying President Joe Biden would not pardon his son Hunter.
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.
She didn’t point out the most obvious change — Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election — but instead pointed out that Republicans “have said they won’t give up.”
Jean-Pierre also pointed out that Hunter’s sentencing was coming, so the president decided “Hunter and his family had been through enough.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made no apology after repeatedly saying President Joe Biden would not pardon his son Hunter
Biden announced the decision after spending intensive family time on Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday with first lady Jill Biden, Hunter and daughter Ashley Biden.
Hunter brought his wife Melissa Cohen to Tony Massachusetts Island and their son, baby Beau, but none of the other grandchildren attended this year.
DailyMail.com reported on Monday about the family’s push to pardon Hunter.
Jean-Pierre repeatedly pointed to one of Biden’s top political allies, Rep. Jim Clyburn, previously the highest-ranking Black member of Congress, who argued that the president should pardon his son.
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.
President Joe Biden (left) pardoned his son, Hunter Biden (right), on Sunday after repeatedly telling reporters he would not
A journalist in the audience asked whether Biden’s pardon for Hunter made it easier for newly elected President Donald Trump to rise to power and pardon the January 6 rioters — as the Republican has promised to do.
“Look, I’m not going to comment on what the new administration is going to do or not do,” the White House press secretary said.
Jean-Pierre was also asked about other pardons.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that White House aides were questioning whether Biden should issue preemptive pardons to some of Trump’s top political enemies — with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Senator-elect Adam Schifl called – although Schiff said he would decline the offer.
“I’m not going to get ahead of the president,” Jean-Pierre replied when asked about preventive pardons at the start of the briefing.