The White House has declined to rule out President Joe Biden commuting any criminal sentence for his son, a day after Hunter Biden was convicted in a federal gun trial.
When asked about a commutation, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters she did not “have anything [to share] beyond” what the president had already said about the case.
A Delaware jury on Tuesday found Hunter Biden guilty of lying about his drug use when buying a revolver in 2018.
Ms Jean-Pierre, who emphasised she had not spoken to the president about commutation, instead pointed to an interview from last week when Mr Biden said he would not pardon his son.
US presidents have the power to commute sentences for defendants convicted of federal offences. They can also choose to outright pardon such convictions, vacating them entirely.
Commuting a sentence would leave the conviction intact, but replace a sentence given in court with a lesser one.
Presidents do not have the power of commutation or pardon in state-level cases.
Aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Ms Jean-Pierre told a group of journalists: “He [President Biden] and the first lady love their son and they support their son, I just don’t have anything… beyond that.”
Read more at BBC.com
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