gppbet Bill Clinton Defends the Hunter Biden Pardon, but Suggests It Was Mishandled

Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday issued a modest defense of President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter but suggested that Mr. Biden’s handling of the issue amounted to a self-inflicted wound.

His comments, at the DealBook Summit in Manhattan, came a few days after Mr. Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon of his son despite having repeatedly said he would not do so.

“I wish he hadn’t said he wasn’t going to do it,” Mr. Clinton said. “It does weaken his case.”

But he argued that “the president did have reason to believe that the nature of the offenses involved were likely to produce far stronger adverse consequences for his son than they would for any normal person under the same circumstances.”

Mr. Biden moved to erase an array of Hunter Biden’s legal problems, including a federal conviction for illegally buying a gun and for tax evasion. The move drew criticism from both Republicans and several elected Democrats.

Mr. Clinton faced scrutiny for his own pardon decisions at the end of his time in office. He also pardoned a family member — his half-brother, Roger Clinton, for old cocaine charges — though Roger Clinton had already completed his prison term.

On Wednesday, Mr. Clinton said that he did not believe the two situations were analogous, even as he stressed that presidential pardons are often complicated and politically fraught.

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