Being Biden’s press secretary has to be hard. Lying through your teeth can get exhausting.
And now Karine Jean-Pierre ducked behind the podium after being asked this one question.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced a barrage of tough questions Monday, her first time addressing the press since President Biden’s controversial decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden.
The move has sparked outrage, especially after both Biden and Jean-Pierre repeatedly and emphatically ruled out any possibility of a pardon in the past.
One reporter zeroed in on the administration’s credibility, asking Jean-Pierre if prior denials of a pardon “could be seen as lies” to the American people.
Jean-Pierre deflected, claiming, “One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” while insisting that Biden “wrestled with [the decision].”
Her responses offered little new insight, as she stuck closely to Sunday night’s statement from Biden, where the president argued that Hunter had been “singled out politically.”
Jean-Pierre echoed the claim that Hunter’s prosecution was motivated by his last name and repeated that Biden believed, “enough is enough.”
But the press secretary also raised eyebrows by hinting at the possibility of further pardons.
“There’s a process in place, obviously,” Jean-Pierre said.
“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 doubled down on portraying Hunter as a victim, claiming prosecutors targeted him “because he was the president’s son” and sought to “break his son in order to break him.”
This defensive posture comes as Biden embarks on a trip to Africa to promote a U.S.-backed railway project aimed at countering China’s growing influence on the continent.
Meanwhile, critics at home are questioning why the president prioritized Hunter’s pardon during such a critical moment for the nation.
Adding fuel to the controversy is Jean-Pierre’s documented history of denying any consideration of a pardon, even as Hunter faced serious legal troubles.
Since July 2023, Jean-Pierre publicly dismissed the idea at least six times.
As recently as November—just days after President-elect Trump’s stunning election victory—she told reporters, “Our answer stands, which is no.”
Now, with Biden’s complete reversal, those repeated denials are coming under fire as deceptive.
The timing of the pardon, issued just weeks before Hunter’s sentencing, has drawn sharp criticism for its blatant disregard of Biden’s previous promises to let the justice system run its course.
The decision has left Democrats scrambling to defend what many see as an indefensible act, further highlighting the Biden administration’s crumbling credibility at a time when Republicans are poised to dominate Washington.
For an administration that promised transparency and accountability, this episode only underscores the deepening doubts about Biden’s leadership and integrity.
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