White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday would not rule out the possibility of President Joe Biden commuting his son Hunter Biden’s sentence after he was convicted this week on three felony charges in a federal gun trial.
Speaking to the press aboard Air Force One en route to Italy for a G7 summit, Jean-Pierre declined to definitively answer questions from reporters about whether Joe Biden would commute the sentence.
“I haven’t spoken to the president about this since the verdict came out and as we all know, the sentencing hasn’t even been scheduled yet,” Jean-Pierre said about the possibility of a commutation, according to The Hill.
Last week, Biden said he would not pardon his son and would accept the trial’s outcome. Jean-Pierre repeatedly referenced his comments ruling out a pardon while not discussing his position on a commutation, which would allow the president to wipe out a possible prison sentence for his son.
“He was asked about a pardon, he was asked about the trial specifically and he answered it very clearly, very forthright,” Jean-Pierre said. “I don’t have anything beyond what the president said. He’s been very clear about this.”
Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison, depending on the judge’s sentence, after he was found guilty of lying on a federal form about his drug use in order to purchase a handgun.
Unlike a pardon, a commutation would not erase the felony conviction from the younger Biden’s record. It could, however, reduce or completely eliminate the terms of the sentence, including jail time or fines.
Joe Biden on Tuesday gave remarks at a gun-control event hours after his son’s conviction on the gun charges. He then traveled to Wilmington, Del., to visit Hunter Biden and other family before departing for Italy Wednesday morning.
