President Joe Biden claims he won't commute son Hunter Biden's sentence or pardon him following his felony conviction on three gun charges on June 11, the New York Post reported. The 54-year-old is facing up to 25 years in prison.
Hunter Biden was convicted of lying on his application to purchase a handgun in October 2018. At the time, he was a drug user but did not disclose the disqualifying fact.
A date has not been set for a sentencing hearing, but Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed he won't use his position to help his son. "I will not pardon him," Biden said at a news conference Thursday at the G7 summit.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Joe Biden won't intervene. "I haven’t spoken to the president about this since the verdict came out, and as we all know, the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet," Jean-Pierre said.
"I’ve not spoken to the president about this, and what I’m saying is, he was asked about a pardon. He was asked about the trial, specifically, and he answered it very clearly, very forthright," Jean-Pierre claimed.
She also answered in the affirmative when asked if Joe Biden "ruled out any type of pardon or commutation or reduced sentence." However, Hunter Biden had already nearly gotten away with a sweetheart deal on the charges.
He was set to accept a plea deal that would have let him off the hook until it fell apart in court, Fox News reported. In exchange for a guilty plea to misdemeanor tax charges, the younger Biden would have avoided felony gun charges.
"Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal was smoked out after scrutiny by a federal judge," James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said following Hunter Biden's conviction. Now, he's not only been convicted of the felony but will face another federal trial in Los Angeles on Sept. 5.
Hunter Biden's downfall also threatens to take down his powerful father. Joe Biden and his brother, James Biden, have been implicated in the same evidence used to convict the younger Biden that came from Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop.
Intelligence officials swore that the laptop was fake, but the trial against Hunter Biden has proven it to be authentic. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) believes this had something to do with the deal that the younger Biden was offered initially.
"Never forget DOJ tried to avoid this trial & verdict by giving Hunter a sweetheart plea deal. Until the judge exposed them," Hawley said on X, formerly Twitter, on June 11.
Joe Biden's assurances that he won't pardon his son or commute his sentence ring hollow in light of the facts. He has every incentive to help his son out, and it's a move he can make regardless of whether he wins reelection in November.
The charges against Hunter Biden are just the tip of the iceberg of the scandal that surrounds him and the rest of the family. It's hard to believe that he'll keep to his word about allowing his son to face justice when he has so much to lose.
