White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confronted the press for the primary time Monday after President Biden pardoned his son Hunter – an end result that each Biden and Jean-Pierre beforehand insisted a number of instances wouldn’t occur.
One reporter requested Jeane-Pierre if these earlier statements denying a pardon “could be seen as lies” to the American individuals.
“One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” Jeane-Pierre stated, repeatedly saying that Biden “wrestled with [the decision].”
Jeane-Pierre was peppered with questions concerning the pardon and why Biden determined to go ahead with it this weekend, principally repeating many factors within the president’s assertion from Sunday night time, reminiscent of Hunter was “singled out politically.”
TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6’ HOSTAGES IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’
White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had repeatedly insisted President Biden had no plans to pardon his son throughout her tenure within the administration. (AP/Evan Vucci, File)
Jean-Pierre additionally raised the potential for additional pardons, saying that Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.”
“There’s a process in place, obviously,” she informed reporters. “And so, I’m not going to get ahead of the president on this, but you could expect more announcements, more pardons, clemency at the end of this term.”
Jean-Pierre took questions from reporters whereas aboard Air Power One en path to Luanda, Angola, the place Biden was taking a three-day journey to spotlight a U.S.-backed railway undertaking in Zambia, Congo and Angola that he has pushed as a brand new method in countering China’s affect and dominance of Africa’s important minerals.
Jean-Pierre had denied Biden was contemplating a pardon six instances since July 2023. The denials got here whilst Hunter was being prosecuted.
Jean-Pierre final repeated that her reply had not modified in November, shortly after President-elect Trump received the 2024 presidential election.
“We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no,” the press secretary stated on the time.
Fox Information Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and The Related Press contributed to this report.
