Hunter Biden acknowledged that former President Joe Biden's decision to pardon him will likely be remembered as a defining and controversial part of his father's legacy, but said the move reflected a parent's devotion rather than political calculation.
Speaking on Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D-Calif.) podcast aired on Friday, Hunter Biden said both he and his father understood that the pardon would draw criticism and potentially overshadow other aspects of the former president's time in office.
"It's going to be one of the first things that is written about him," Hunter Biden said. "That's how much you know my dad loves me. He chose me over his political legacy."
Joe Biden granted his son a full and unconditional pardon in December 2024, reversing earlier public assurances that he would not intervene in the federal gun and tax cases against Hunter Biden. The pardon came shortly before sentencing was scheduled in both cases and weeks before Biden left office.
Hunter Biden argued that his father genuinely intended not to issue a pardon when he made those earlier statements. However, he said circumstances changed after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election. According to Hunter Biden, concerns about how a second Trump administration might handle his legal situation influenced the former president's decision.
"It would have been like having a gun to my family's head for the next four years," he said, describing the pardon as "a really incredibly rational decision and a really difficult decision." Hunter Biden added that his father would not have issued the pardon under a more traditional Republican administration, saying the outcome was tied specifically to Trump's return to the White House.
The pardon remains politically contentious because the criminal cases were investigated and prosecuted during Joe Biden's presidency. Attorney General Merrick Garland also retained the U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation after taking office. After a plea agreement collapsed, Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges and later pleaded guilty to multiple tax offenses.
Supporters of the pardon, including former first lady Jill Biden, have argued that the process became politicized and that the former president acted to protect his son from what they viewed as unfair treatment.
