Former first lady Jill Biden defended the sweeping pardon her husband granted their son Hunter Biden, telling CBS News that the family believed President Donald Trump would “target” Hunter once he returned to office. The interview, which aired on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” offered one of the most extensive public explanations yet for the controversial clemency decision that surprised even Democratic supporters.
The sit-down with correspondent Rita Braver came as Jill Biden promoted her memoir, “View from the East Wing: A Memoir,” published by Gallery Books.
Hunter’s Legal Troubles and the Sweeping Clemency
Hunter Biden faced conviction on three felony gun charges in June 2024, related to his 2018 firearm purchase and possession, including possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Months later, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges. The pardon former President Joe Biden issued in December 2024, during his presidency’s final month, erased both federal cases.
The clemency proved extraordinarily broad, providing a full and unconditional pardon for any offenses Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed” from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. That roughly 11-year span covered not only both convictions but virtually any other potential federal liability arising from his business dealings or personal conduct.
President Joe Biden declared at the time that his son suffered selective prosecution driven by politics. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” the former president said. He noted Hunter had been five and a half years sober and characterized the prosecutions as part of an “unrelenting” campaign of attacks.
A Pardon That Broke a Promise
Braver challenged Jill Biden on President Biden’s reversal, noting he had publicly promised, “I won’t pardon Hunter,” before changing course in his presidency’s closing weeks. When asked if she had pushed the president to reverse his stance, Jill Biden admitted the shift but maintained that circumstances changed dramatically following the November 2024 election.
“When Trump was elected, things changed, and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go — I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for,” she told Braver, according to the CBS broadcast.
The former first lady avoided directly confirming whether she personally urged her husband to issue the pardon. When Braver repeated the question, she changed direction. “Oh gosh, I truly supported it. I wanted him to pardon Hunter at that point, and I agreed with Joe,” she replied, dodging the question of whether she had driven the decision.
Preemptive Pardons for the Whole Family
Braver also questioned Jill Biden about why her husband granted preemptive pardons to other Biden family members as he left office, a highly unusual action that sparked criticism from legal scholars and political adversaries. She provided the same explanation, stating President Biden worried Trump would pursue his relatives after regaining power.
Jill Biden indicated her husband’s views about the justice system solidified after the election. She told Braver that the justice department changed and the process was not fair to Hunter, expressing the Biden family’s conviction that prosecutors under a second Trump administration would lack restraint.
‘Frightened’ by the Debate Stage
The interview yielded other notable revelations. Jill Biden said she felt “frightened” watching her husband’s catastrophic June 2024 debate performance against Trump, the event that triggered the sequence leading to President Biden’s exit from the presidential race. Her memoir describes her thoughts during the debate in real time: “Is he short-circuiting? … Is this a stroke? … Was he having a medical emergency?” She writes that she still does not know what happened and says she regrets not requesting bloodwork. She also recalls President Biden whispering to her as he exited the stage: “I really *** up, didn’t I?” — an acknowledgment that, if true, would reshape understanding of one of the 2024 campaign’s most pivotal moments.
Jill Biden’s comments to Braver constitute one of her most comprehensive public statements since departing the White House. Pardon critics have contended the action contradicted President Biden’s longstanding statements about the rule of law and equal justice, a criticism the former first lady displayed no inclination to accept.