Hunter Biden has stated that the presidential pardon he received from his father, former U.S. President Joe Biden, was "not good" for America or the former president's legacy. In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Newsnight, Biden acknowledged the criticism surrounding the December 2024 pardon, calling it "easily criticized and for good reason."
He described himself as "the most privileged person there is" due to the pardon. Biden suggested that his father granted him the pardon out of concern that he would become a target under a potential Donald Trump administration. "I was the only one in the world that could have gotten what I got from the only person in the world who could give it, my father," he told the BBC.
Biden also insisted that he and his father never discussed the possibility of a pardon beforehand, stating that such conversations would inevitably become public. The pardon, which was full and unconditional, covered his son's federal gun conviction, a tax case to which he had pleaded guilty, and any federal offenses committed between 2014 and 2024.
The former president announced the pardon by saying his son had been "selectively and unfairly prosecuted." In the interview, Biden also ruled out seeking elected office and discussed his efforts to help others overcome addiction, referencing his own recovery.