White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) played a key role in convincing President Biden to pardon his son Hunter.
Jean-Pierre claimed Biden, 82, “wrestled” with the decision to pardon his son for any and all crimes he committed between 2014 and 2024 — but it was a visit by Clyburn, 84, that tipped the scales and led the president to go back on his repeated promises not to do so.
“You heard this president say this many times before, he believes when it comes to his family, when it comes to how he moves forward, about thinking about his family, they’re the beginning, the middle and the end,” Jean-Pierre said.
“And he wrestled with this. It was not an easy thing for him to decide.”
A federal jury convicted Hunter, 54, in June of three felony charges after he lied on a gun purchase form in 2018, claiming he was not using or addicted to drugs when in fact he had an active crack cocaine habit at the time.
A sentencing hearing in the case had been set for Dec. 12.
Clyburn, who has long had President Biden’s ear, spoke with the lame-duck commander in chief two weeks ago and pushed for Hunter’s pardon, according to Jean-Pierre.
“This is Clyburn’s words: ‘The president was reticent’ when he tried to encourage him to pardon Hunter. … I think that’s important to note,” the White House press secretary said.
Jean-Pierre referenced Biden’s conversation with Clyburn several times more throughout the briefing, suggesting it was a major turning point for the president as he mulled going back on his promise to the American people.
Since Hunter’s pardon, Clyburn has pushed the administration to dole out more pardons before the president leaves office.
The South Carolina Democrat revealed Friday that he asked White House officials to convince Biden to issue pre-emptive pardons to several current and former government officials that he fears could be in the cross-hairs of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
“I also told them that I thought he ought to go even further, because all the noise about Jack Smith and Liz Cheney and Doctor Fauci and all of that,” Clyburn said, referring to the special counsel prosecuting Trump’s federal cases, the former Republican Wyoming congresswoman who co-chaired the House Jan. 6 investigative committee and ex-COVID czar Anthony Fauci.
Multiple outlets this week reported that senior White House officials are discussing the need for Biden to issue such pre-emptive pardons to stave off potential inquiries and indictments against Trump critics.
Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and retired Gen. Mark Milley have also been floated as potentially needing pardons.
Clyburn also signaled this week that he would support Biden even pardoning Trump before he enters the Oval Office.
“Yes, I could, absolutely,” Clyburn told CNN when asked about supporting a Trump pardon, “because the Supreme Court has pretty much made it very clear that he is preemptively pardoned of anything he may do as president.”
Trump, 78, was convicted of criminal fraud charges in a New York hush-money case involving porn star Stormy Daniels, but his sentencing has been delayed as the judge mulls whether to move forward, given the pol is headed back to the White House.