Jill Biden Supported Husband's Pardon of Son Hunter

Former first lady Jill Biden has revealed that she supported former President Joe Biden's decision to pardon their son Hunter Biden. She said that the legal process against him had become unfair and difficult after Donald Trump's election victory.

In an interview with CBS News, Jill said Hunter was being unfairly targeted and defended the controversial pardon issued by her husband in the final weeks of his presidency. “The Justice Department changed, and the process was not fair to Hunter,” Jill Biden said. She added: “When Trump was elected, things changed and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go — I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for.”

When asked if she had pushed Joe to pardon Hunter, Jill did not directly say she had encouraged him. However, she made it clear that she supported the decision. “Oh gosh, I truly supported it. I wanted him to pardon Hunter at that point, and I agreed with Joe,” she said.

56-year-old Hunter Biden was convicted in Delaware in June 2024 on three federal charges linked to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while concealing his drug use. Three months later, he pleaded guilty in a separate federal case in Los Angeles involving the evasion of $1.4 million in taxes. The two cases against Hunter Biden were handled by special counsel David Weiss.

The investigations moved forward after a plea deal that could have kept Hunter out of prison fell apart in July 2023. The agreement collapsed because Hunter's lawyers wanted legal protection from possible future charges, including potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Around the same time, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler claimed that Justice Department officials interfered in parts of the investigation. They alleged that prosecutors tipped off Hunter Biden's lawyers about a planned search and limited efforts to investigate Joe Biden's links to his son's overseas business activities.

Jill Biden's assertion that people do not typically go to prison for offences similar to Hunter's gun conviction has drawn scrutiny. Kodak Black, the rapper, received a 46-month prison sentence in 2019 after admitting to providing false information during a federal firearms purchase.

Despite repeated assurances from the White House that Joe Biden would not pardon his son, the former president issued a sweeping pardon on December 1, 2024. The clemency covered all offences Hunter Biden may have committed between January 1, 2014 and the date of the pardon, including crimes for which no charges had been filed.

On his final day in office in January 2025, Biden also issued pre-emptive pardons to several family members, including his brothers James and Frank Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, and their spouses. Asked about those decisions, Jill Biden said her husband acted because “I suppose for the same reason, that he felt that they would be targeted.”