Hunter Biden Criticized His Father's Decision to Pardon Him

Hunter Biden told BBC Newsnight in an interview that the presidential pardon from his father was not good for America, the Constitution or Joe Biden’s legacy, while saying he was grateful.

Hunter Biden said he was the most privileged person there is after the pardon and told the BBC he understood the criticism. “It’s something that is easily criticised and for good reason,” he said. “It’s not fair… All I know is that I’m grateful that he did it for me.”

He defended the decision by arguing that his father acted out of concern that he would become a target under Donald Trump’s incoming administration. Hunter Biden said he and his father had never discussed a pardon before it was granted, adding: “There is no way that you can have those kinds of discussions that would not become public.”

President Biden granted his son a full and unconditional pardon in December 2024, after repeatedly saying he would not use presidential powers to intervene in his son’s legal cases. Joe Biden said at the time that his son had been “selectively and unfairly prosecuted.” The pardon covered a federal gun conviction, a tax case to which Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty, and any federal offences committed between 2014 and 2024.

In the wide-ranging interview, Hunter Biden described his addiction at its worst as drinking almost a gallon of vodka a day and smoking crack cocaine almost every 15 minutes. He called that period “hell on earth” and said drugs and alcohol became “the thing that almost killed me.”

Hunter Biden also became emotional discussing his father’s health, saying Joe Biden’s cancer “has spread, metastasised into his bones and further” and was “very painful” and “very debilitating.” He said he had “no interest in elected politics” and wanted to focus on speaking about addiction and recovery.