The White House has declined to rule out a presidential commutation for Hunter Biden following his conviction earlier this week on federal gun charges.
When asked specifically by a reporter on Air Force One as President Joe Biden traveled to the G7 summit in Italy, about whether a commutation of Hunter Biden’s eventual sentence was on the table, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she hadn’t spoken to the president about the matter since Tuesday’s verdict.
Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when he lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
President Joe Biden said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict that he would accept the outcome and “continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”
Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, though as a first-time offender he would not get anywhere near the maximum, and there’s no guarantee the judge would send him to prison – a sentencing date has not been set.
Immediately after the verdict, President Biden said, „I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.”
In judicial terms, a pardon is an executive forgiveness of a crime, a commutation is an executive lowering of a sentence or punishment. Thus, a pardon is out of the question for Hunter Biden, but a commutation is not.
