(Headline USA) The White House insisted this week that Hunter Biden has not committed any crimes, but refused to say whether President Joe Biden would grant him a pardon if he is indicted following a federal investigation.
“Is it your understanding it’s the president’s view that as he looks at all of Hunter Biden’s business dealings with his uncle, that neither Hunter Biden nor James Biden committed any crimes or did anything that was unlawful?” a reporter asked White House deputy communications director Kate Bedingfield.
Bedingfield cited a denial the White House issued in 2020 when asked whether the president was aware of his son’s foreign business deals.
“We pointed to statements that were made in the fall of 2020 when we addressed these questions,” she said.
“I don’t have anything additional to add from this podium,” Bedingfield added.
A different reporter from NBC News then cited the president’s past comments, in which he claimed there was “nothing unethical” about his son’s business dealings and that Hunter Biden “has not made money in China,” and asked if the White House stands by that statement.
“We absolutely stand by the president’s comment,” Bedingfield said.
“And I would point you to the reporting on this, which referenced statements that we made at the time, that we gave to the Washington Post, who worked on this story,” she said. “But as you know, I don’t speak for Hunter Biden so there’s not more I can say on that.”
When asked whether there had been internal conversations about the president pardoning his son, Bedingfield replied: “That’s not a hypothetical I’m going to entertain. I don’t have anything to add.”
Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud and money laundering. Some ethical experts have predicted that the White House is preparing for an indictment.
