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Karine Jean-Pierre cites bizarre reason why Joe Biden pardoned son Hunter, ‘There were political opponents who…’
Karine Jean-Pierre was heard using the term “war politics” three times while answering fiery questions aboard Air Force One from journalists.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has claimed Joe Biden pardoned his son because “war politics” prompted Hunter’s prosecution. She also insisted that the Justice Department is not broadly politically biased, as opposed to what president-elect Donald Trump claimed.
Answering fiery questions aboard Air Force One from journalists, Jean-Pierre was heard using the term “war politics” three times. This happened as the president flew to Angola for an official visit hours after pardoning his son, claiming he did it because Hunter was being “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
“Karine, when the president says that the justice system is infected with politics, how deep is the rot and how much of the blame does the president take on himself for the fact that his own Justice Department, his appointees, have allowed it to get this bad?” a reporter asked, according to New York Post.
Jean-Pierre asserted that Biden “believes in the Justice Department.”
The reporter exclaimed, “He just said it’s infected with politics!”
“So how deep is the rot? How many selective prosecutions are there at the DOJ?” the journalist pressed.
“What I can speak to is this particular case, which is Hunter Biden, who has the last name of the president,” Jean-Pierre said. “There were political opponents who were very clear and very vocal about going after his son.”
Jean-Pierre did not note that a Justice Department controlled Biden’s own appointees, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, brought the charges. “The president took action because of how politically infected these cases were,” she said.
“Hunter was singled out and because his last name was Biden, because he was the president’s son, that’s what we saw,” she said.
“The system doesn’t get corrupted by politics for people whose name is not Biden?” a different reporter asked.
“You’re twisting and misrepresenting what I’m saying. I’m talking about a particular issue right now,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“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?” a journalist asked at one point.
“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,” Jean-Pierre said.
‘Hunter Biden was singled out because his dad is the president’
Both Biden and Jean-Pierre previously repeatedly claimed that the president would not pardon his son. Jean-Pierre now said that the commander-in-chief simply changed his mind over Thanksgiving.
“Hunter Biden was singled out because his dad is the president, that’s what we’re talking about here, and that’s what we have been seeing for the past several years,” Jean-Pierre alleged.
“The next round of pardons could come for those who are waiting and have been waiting for some time and aren’t Hunter Biden. How soon could we expect to see this?” one reporter asked.
“You can expect more announcements to come,” Jean-Pierre deflected.
“The United States has more people in prison than any country on Earth. Some are facing a death penalty that the president himself said he would get rid of and has not gotten rid of. Can we expect that other people who are in prison, whose clemency petitions are sitting at the White House, are going to have their cases see the same care and attention that the president gave his own son?” another reporter asked.
A different journalist pressed, “The judge said it wasn’t political pressure. So the president, in his statement, is he not undermining the judge and the judicial system that he promised would be independent?”
Jean-Pierre, however, did not directly answer the questions.
