Pelosi on Hunter Biden pardon: 'I support the president'

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated support for President Biden’s controversial move to pardon his son, Hunter Biden.

Pelosi told The Hill on Wednesday when asked for her thoughts about the Hunter Biden pardon: “I support the president.”

Asked if she supports the pardon specifically, Pelosi added: “The pardon, yes.”

The former Speaker's comments stand in contrast to those from a wave of Democrats on Capitol Hill and beyond who have criticized President Biden’s move. 

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) posted that the pardon “was wrong,” while Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said it puts “personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, on Wednesday said he understood the impulse "as a father," but "as someone who has spent a lot of time at this podium talking about the importance of respecting the rule of law, it’s disappointing.” 

The president announced a “full and unconditional pardon” for his son on Sunday night, sending shock waves throughout Washington. It marked a major reversal for the White House, which for months insisted the president would not pardon Hunter Biden or commute his sentence.

Hunter Biden, who was the subject of intense scrutiny from Republicans who at times pushed unproven claims about him, was facing sentencing this month on tax and gun charges.

Pelosi’s stance is also notable given the circumstances of President Biden dropping his reelection bid this summer. The Hill reported at the time that Pelosi was one of the Democrats working behind the scenes to urge Biden to drop his presidential bid.

She later publicly said in a New York Times interview after the election that she wished Biden would have gotten out of the race sooner so there could have been an open primary process to choose his replacement.

The current leader of the House Democratic Caucus, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), responded to Biden’s pardon on Tuesday by calling for more pardons for nonviolent offenses.

“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.