At White House Xmas event, first lady Jill Biden says she supports pardon of Hunter Biden

First lady Jill Biden said Monday “of course” she supports her husband’s decision to pardon Hunter Biden on tax and gun convictions.

The comments, delivered at a White House Christmas event with children of National Guard families, marked the first on-camera comments from a Biden family member about the pardon.

“Of course I support the pardon of my son,” Mrs. Biden told reporters who shouted questions from afar.

Hunter Biden faced a Dec. 12 sentencing in Wilmington, Delaware, for his conviction on three federal gun charges. He was also set to be sentenced in Los Angeles on Dec. 16 after pleading guilty to nine federal tax evasion charges.

But President Biden announced a pardon late Sunday covering his son’s actions back to 2014. He condemned the prosecutions as politically motivated, while breaking his promise not to use his executive authority to save his son from potential prison time.

While the Bidens defended the move, Republicans called it an abuse of the justice system, and some Democrats said it would set a poor precedent.

“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” Sen. Michael Bennet, Colorado Democrat, said on X.

Hunter Biden is the president’s second son. His birth mother, Neilia Biden, died in a car crash alongside his younger sister, Naomi.

Hunter Biden and his brother, the late Beau Biden, were injured in the crash.

Mrs. Biden, the first lady, became a part of the family in 1977 when she married Joseph R. Biden, who was a U.S. senator from Delaware at the time.

Mr. Biden and Mrs. Biden had one daughter together, Ashley Biden.

Mrs. Biden attended nearly every day of Hunter Biden’s criminal trial in Delaware.