The White House claimed that President Joe Biden will not pardon his son Hunter in relation to a number of tax and firearms-related charges this week. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied “no” to a question regarding whether there was “any possibility that the president would end up pardoning his son?”
The terse reply came after a tentative plea deal for the younger Biden was paused by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
Hunter Biden’s legal team attempted to receive a guarantee that he would be immune from future charges, which was declined by the judge.
According to the proposed diversion agreement, the federal government would agree “criminally prosecute Biden, outside of the terms of the Agreement, for any federal crimes” related to other financial questions or regarding whether he was legally obligated to file as a foreign agent.
Following negotiations, the deal fell apart.
The collapse of the plea deal also came as the First Son’s legal team admitted in court that Hunter Biden received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a number of foreign sources, including China.
Joe Biden, 2020: "My son has not made money in terms of…China"
Hunter Biden, yesterday: "My partner was associated with a Chinese energy company called CEFC"pic.twitter.com/nL03U210Dp
— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) July 27, 2023
The failure of the plea deal also drew considerable reaction from Republicans in Congress.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who is leading an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, said that the judge “did the right thing by refusing to rubberstamp Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal.” He added that such a plea deal “belongs in the trash.”
The Kentucky Republican added that the result “gives our investigation a lot more credibility.”
He added that he hoped that the Department of Justice is “held accountable for its Biden family coverup.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said that the judge’s rejection of the “sweeping blanket deal” was a sign that the “court has serious concerns about other potential charges here, and also the scope of the deal, which has seemed outrageous from the beginning.”
Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the president’s son is a “private citizen and this was a personal matter for him.”
