Whether or not President Joe Biden and his family discussed it sorry Hunter Biden During their time together in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News on Monday.
Senior White House staff were informed of the possibility of a pardon on Saturday afternoon. President Biden made the final decision on Sunday, the source said.
Biden did not respond to questions on the matter as he left late Sunday Three day trip to Africa.
Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son, was indicted in June on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty in September to nine tax-related charges. Both cases carried the potential for significant prison time and both were scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
President Biden has long said he would not forgive his son, including one Interview with ABC’s David Muir Because Hunter Biden’s gun trial was underway last summer.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Biden said his son was “unfairly” convicted after pressure from political opponents.
President Joe Biden with Hunter Biden leaves a bookstore in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 29, 2024.
Craig Hudson/Reuters
“I have followed one simple principle throughout my career: Just tell the truth to the American people. They will be fair. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but having fought it, I also believe it. Dirty politics have polluted this process and led to a miscarriage of justice. has — and when I made this decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it any longer,” President Biden said.
Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and their son Beau, as well as Ashley Biden, thanked President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in Nantucket.
“I hope the American people will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision,” added the president.
Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, pushed back.
Republicans in Congress spent years investigating the Biden family, including Hunter Biden, over their business dealings. House Republicans released a report in August impeachment inquiry full of accusations, many directed at Hunter Biden, but no recommendation of specific articles of impeachment and no evidence that President Biden himself was directly involved in the alleged improper activities.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, leaves court after pleading guilty to tax fraud on Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
It is unclear whether Republicans will continue the investigation after President Biden leaves office in January.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday criticized the pardon, which runs until 2014.
“President Biden insisted many times that he would never forgive his son for his serious crimes. But last night he suddenly issued a ‘Full and Unconditional Forgiveness’ for all of Hunter’s crimes spanning over a decade!” Johnson wrote in X. “Trust in our justice system has been damaged almost beyond repair by Biden and his use and abuse of it. Real reform can’t start soon enough!”
