WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly claimed Monday that President Biden pardoned his son Hunter because “war politics” prompted his prosecution on gun and tax fraud charges — while insisting the Justice Department is not broadly politically biased, as President-elect Donald Trump claims.
Jean-Pierre fielded fiery questioning aboard Air Force One from journalists as Biden, 82, flew to Angola for an official visit following the Sunday night pardon.
“The president took an action because of how politically infected these cases were,” Jean-Pierre told incredulous members of the press pool.
A reporter pressed: “The system doesn’t get corrupted by politics for people whose name is not Biden?”
“You’re twisting and misrepresenting what I’m saying. I’m talking about a particular issue right now,” Jean-Pierre said.
At one point, another journalist asked, “Does the president believe now and agree with President-elect Trump that the justice system has been weaponized for political purposes and that it needs root and branch reform?”
“No. Read the president’s statement. Seriously, read the president’s statement. He said he believes in the Department of Justice. He does. He says it in his statement. He also believes that war politics infected the process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” she said.
In at-times tense exchanges, Jean-Pierre said that Biden is not seeking the resignation of Attorney General Merrick Garland, despite his leadership of the department during what Biden described as a political prosecution.
Before issuing the pardon, both Biden and Jean-Pierre repeatedly claimed there would be no clemency for the first son — arguing that it was important to respect the legal system and bashing Trump for alleging that four criminal cases brought against him were motivated by politics.
I guess I'm unreasonable. You?
Karine Jean-Pierre: ‘No Reasonable Person’ Could Deny Hunter Biden Pardonhttps://t.co/O8YoJwwhNB
— Straight Shooter Adam 🇺🇸 (@Patriot_Opines) December 2, 2024
