Joe Biden’s press secretary in fiery exchange over Hunter’s pardon

Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been forced to fend off questions after the president pardoned his son Hunter. Listen to the audio.

US President Joe Biden’s press secretary denied the President lied to the American people over his controversial move to pardon his son Hunter.

In a tense exchange with reporters after the President announced the pardon, backflipping on his commitment not to let his son off, Karine Jean-Pierre argued Mr Biden was “always truthful” and that he only decided to change his mind in recent days.

“He said he wrestled with this, because he believes in the justice system but he also believes that the war politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” she said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) fields a question for US President Joe Biden. Picture: AFP

She repeatedly said “war politics” prompted the prosecution of Hunter on gun and tax charges, stumbling over Mr Biden’s statement in which he blamed “raw politics”.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, as Mr Biden travelled to Africa for what loomed as his last overseas trip as the president, his press secretary said he did not agree with Donald Trump that the justice system had been weaponised for political purposes.

US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, right. Picture: AFP

Instead, she claimed the President “believes in the Department of Justice” and that his son had been “unfairly targeted”, saying that “both things can be true”.

US First Lady Jill Biden broke her silence on the matter while unveiling this year’s Christmas decorations at the White House.

“Of course I support the pardon of my son,” Dr Biden told reporters.

US First Lady Jill Biden during her holiday message to the Nation. Picture: AFP

The President had repeatedly maintained he would not issue a pardon for his son, even after he was found guilty in a dramatic trial in June over lying about taking illicit drugs when he purchased a firearm.

In September, Hunter pleaded guilty to federal tax charges to avoid another trial, having been accused of splurging millions of dollars including on drugs and women instead of paying years of income taxes.

But on Sunday night (Monday morning AEDT), the President issued an extraordinary statement revealing he had wiped away his convictions and spared him from a potential jail term.

Mr Biden attacked the Justice Department’s treatment of his son in a controversial five-year investigation that was overseen by David Weiss, a US Attorney chosen by Mr Trump who was appointed as a special counsel under Mr Biden to independently handle the case.

The President said it was “clear that Hunter was treated differently”, pointing out that similar gun charges were “almost never brought to trial” and that “non-criminal resolutions” were typical for people with addictions who were late to pay their taxes but ultimately did so.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Mr Biden said.

“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.

“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”

Sentencing in the gun case had been scheduled for December 12 before a separate sentencing hearing over the tax conviction on December 16.

The President-elect had suggested before his election victory that he would also consider pardoning Mr Biden’s son if he returned to the White House, having previously joined with congressional Republicans to egg on the Justice Department’s investigation.

Mr Biden’s pardon covers “offences against the United States” which his son “committed or may have committed” over the past decade.

Mr Trump, in a post on his social media platform, questioned whether Mr Biden would also pardon people locked up over the violent invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was the shocking culmination of the former president’s effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Calling them “hostages”, Mr Trump said their imprisonment was “such an abuse and miscarriage of justice”.

A News Corp reader poll revealed 74 per cent of the 2200-plus respondents did not support Mr Biden’s decision, while 7 per cent voted they were unsure.

Just 19 per cent of those who responded to the survey sided with the President.

US presidents have previously used pardons to help family members and other political allies, with Bill Clinton pardoning his half-brother for cocaine charges and Mr Trump pardoning the father of his son-in-law for tax evasion.

In both cases, the men had already served their prison terms.

Originally published as Joe Biden’s press secretary in fiery exchange over Hunter’s pardon