First Lady Jill Biden may have had a hand in getting the president to pardon her son Hunter Biden: “There was clearly pressure within the family,” said Jeff Zeleny, CNN’s chief national affairs correspondent.
"They really told us in the last few weeks that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, was very supportive of the president doing something like this," he added. According to Zeleny, Biden "was not sure" about granting the pardon and suggested that he may have felt pressured by his wife, the First Lady.
Jill influenced Joe Biden
"Of course, I support the pardon of my son," said Jill Biden to journalists at the White House. Jill is known for being one of the most influential first ladies to have stepped foot in the White House in the last 100 years.
During Biden's presidency, Jill has had the reputation of controlling certain situations to protect Joe from the press.
Although she influenced her husband to pardon Hunter, Jill has a difficult relationship with her stepson.
Hunter, 54, referred to his stepmother as a "b***h with entitlement" and a "vindictive idiot" in text messages found on his laptop.
Hunter Biden is guilty
Hunter pleaded guilty in September to nine charges related to $1.4 million in unpaid taxes, but had previously also been convicted of three federal charges related to firearms because he used firearms while addicted to illegal drugs.
On December 12th, he was supposed to receive a sentence for the tax case, but his father intervened before handing over his mandate. Biden said he issued the pardon because he felt that Hunter was being "prosecuted selectively and unfairly."
“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction, mistakes that have been exploited to humiliate and shame me and my family publicly for political purposes,” said Hunter Biden in a statement.