Hunter Biden, in a newly released interview, is claiming that his father, former President Joe Biden, only pardoned him because Donald Trump won the White House in November of 2024. He “would not have” done so under “normal circumstances,” he claimed.
During the interview, released Monday on journalist Tommy Christopher’s Substack platform, Hunter Biden said, "“Donald Trump went and changed everything. And I don’t think that I need to make much of an argument about why it changed everything.”
“I’ve said this before,” Hunter continued. “My dad would not have pardoned me if President Trump had not won, and the reason that he would not have pardoned me is because I was certain that in a normal circumstance of the appeals [I would have won].”
Hunter, in September of 2024, pleaded guilty to evading $1.4 million in back taxes. He was also convicted on felony gun charges.
“I realize how privileged I am,” Hunter went on. “I realize how lucky I am; I realize that I got something that almost no one would have gotten. But I’m incredibly grateful for it and I have to say that I don’t think that it requires me to make much of a detailed argument for why it was the right thing to do, at least from my dad, from his perspective.”
Hunter then deflected, adding that he was surprised Trump had “just commuted George Santos’ sentence.” The Republican was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to campaign donations.
“Why did he do it? To show that he can do anything — anything he wants,” Hunter said.
Joe Biden issued a pardon for Hunter Biden on December 1, 2024, covering his tax and gun felonies, and extending protection from prosecution for any potential crimes committed between January 1, 2014, and the date of his pardon.