Press Secretary Declines to Comment on Possible Commutation of Hunter Biden’s Sentence

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to comment on Wednesday about whether President Joe Biden would consider commuting the sentence of his son, Hunter Biden, who was recently convicted on three felony gun charges in a Wilmington, Delaware court.

Jean-Pierre deflected when asked about a possible commutation during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One. Biden has previously addressed the possibility of pardoning his son, stating that he would not do so.

One reporter asked Jean-Pierre whether a commutation would be “on the table.”

“So, look, as I stated at the top, I don’t have anything to say beyond to your first question, beyond what the president’s statement was yesterday. He’s been very clear. We’ve been very clear, you know, he loves his son. And he and the first lady love their son and they support their son. I just don’t have anything, certainly anything beyond that.”

“What I will say is look, 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 added, noting that the sentencing in Hunter’s case was scheduled for later in the summer. “But you saw the president do an interview just last week when he was in Normandy and he was asked a question, several questions, a couple questions about this and he very clear, very up front, obviously very definitive and I just don’t have anything he, you have his own words. I just don’t have anything beyond that.”

Another reporter pressed again: “So you’re not ruling out that he would commute the sentence?”

Jean-Pierre responded in the same fashion, repeating, “What I’m saying is that the president, I have not spoken to the president about this and what I’m saying is he was asked about a pardon, he was asked about, he was asked about the trial specifically and he answered it very clearly, very forthright. As we know the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet, I don’t have anything beyond what the president said. He’s been very clear about this.”

Biden has been clear in stating that he would not pardon his son, but within minutes of Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict, CNN was already speculating that a commutation could be in the offing.

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