KJP Takes Verbal Flogging From Reporters After Biden Pardons Hunter

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attempted to spin President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter after months of claiming that he would not do so.

Jean-Pierre took questions from reporters traveling with Biden to Angola on Monday, less than 24 hours after the 82-year-old issued a statement announcing that he would be pardoning his son. Both the president and his staff, including Jean-Pierre, have insisted for months that Biden had no plans to clear his son of his crimes. The press secretary dodged questions on whether the president was previously lying about the pardon. She also claimed that he still believed in the Justice Department despite his claims that the investigations into his son were politically motivated. (RELATED: Here Are Times Biden, KJP Promised President Wouldn’t Pardon Hunter Before Breaking His Word)

“You have said repeatedly yourself since the election and the president has said for months no pardon was coming. I wanted to ask you, could those statements now be seen as lies to the American people?” one reporter asked. “Is there really a credibility issue here now given this announcement?”

“First of all, one of the things that the president always believes is to be truthful to the American people. That is something that he always truly believes,” the press secretary began.

“If you look at the end of his statement, and he actually says that in the first line of the last paragraph. And respects the thinking and how the American people will actually see this and his decision making. And I would encourage everyone to read the president’s statement in full, I think he lays out his thought process. He lays out how he came to this decision. He came to this decision this weekend, so let’s be very clear about that. He says it himself, it’s in his voice. And he said he wrestled with this, because he believes in the justice system but he also believes that the war of politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” Jean-Pierre continued.

The press secretary would not tell reporters if the president discussed his decision this weekend with his son who was spotted in Nantucket with him.

Biden’s statement pardoning Hunter reads similarly to an Instagram post his daughter Ashley made this weekend.

She wrote, “they tried to break us… but never/willcan.”

Biden writes today, “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe… https://t.co/gAYInKwsCt

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) December 2, 2024

A Delaware jury convicted Hunter Biden in June of knowingly possessed a gun while suffering a drug addiction, in addition to making false statements on the purchase document. Following the decision, the president said that he would not commute his son’s sentence.

The president discussed pardoning his son with staffers in June at the latest, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told NBC News. He and his staff decided in the meantime that they would publicly say he would not pardon his son, despite ongoing discussions to do so, the sources told the outlet.

Biden’s pardon on Sunday comes just before Hunter was set to face sentencing Dec. 12 for possession of a gun while addicted to drugs and Dec. 16 for his guilty plea to federal tax crimes.

In his Sunday statement, Biden claimed that the Justice Department singled out his son because of their relationship.

“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,” the president wrote.

WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on AF1 en route to Angola: “Two things can be true. The President does believe in the justice system and the DOJ. And he also believes that his son was singled out politically.”

“Hunter was singled out because his last name was Biden.”

— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) December 2, 2024

Reporters asked Jean-Pierre about the president’s decision to call out his own Justice Department for being “infected” with politics. The press secretary insisted that despite his opposition to how the Justice Department treated his son, the president believes in the DOJ.

“Is he saying his own Justice Department is broken, Karine?” one reporter asked the press secretary.

“He believes in the Justice Department. He believes that —” Jean-Pierre began to respond before the reporter interjected.

“After saying all that?” the reporter pressed.

“This is the president’s words, he said this: ‘I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watch my son be selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’” Jean-Pierre continued.

Later in the gaggle, Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president would not have pardoned his son had Vice President Kamala Harris won the 2024 election.

“Do you think this would have happened if Harris hadn’t lost the election?” another reporter asked.

“Look, I am not going to get into the election. It is a no, I can answer that,” Jean-Pierre began.

“It’s a no? This would not have happened … the pardon would not have happened if Harris had not lost the election?” the reporter followed up.

“I can speak to where we are today, and so I can’t speak to hypotheticals here,” Jean-Pierre said, appearing to backtrack.