President Joe Biden could pardon Hunter Biden if he is convicted on gun charges, a defense attorney tells Newsweek.

Hunter, the president’s son, has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements on a federal form while purchasing a firearm in October 2018 and of illegal gun possession while being a drug user.


“There is always the option of the president, his father, either granting a pardon or commutation of the sentence. Under the circumstances, the decision to roll the dice and try the case is a good one,” Oleg Nekritin, a defense attorney at the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot in Newark, New Jersey, told Newsweek.

Newsweek reached out to Hunter Biden’s attorney and the White House press office via email for comment on Thursday.

A commutation imposes a lesser penalty after a conviction for a crime. It can either be a reduction in severity or duration of the penalty.

Hunter is the first offspring of a sitting president to face a criminal trial. A jury was chosen at a Delaware court on Monday, and the jury began hearing evidence on Tuesday. Nekritin said that Hunter is pleading not guilty after the court rejected a very favorable plea deal.

“Hunter Biden’s legal team, headed by one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the country, Abbe Lowell, was able to get a remarkably favorable plea deal that the court refused to accept,” he said.

Last December, the White House said that the president would not be pardoning Hunter.

“I’ve been very clear; the president is not going to pardon his son,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a press briefing.

NBC News noted at the time that the White House did not respond when asked if Joe Biden had publicly said he would not pardon his son. In an online article, the outlet speculated that Biden could pardon his son if he wins a second term and there is a potential loss of voter support.


Other second-term presidents have pardoned family members. On his last day in office in 2001, Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, for a cocaine possession charge.

Roger Clinton was convicted of a more serious offense than the one Hunter Biden is alleged to have committed.

At the start of the trial, President Biden released a statement saying he would not be commenting on the case.

“As president, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases,” the statement read. “But as a dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him and respect for his strength.”