Hunter Biden says father's pardon was 'not good' for America or his legacy

Hunter Biden gave a wide-ranging interview to the BBC's Newsnight programme, discussing the full and unconditional pardon granted by his father, former President Joe Biden, in December 2024, as well as his father's declining health and his own decision not to pursue elected office.

Hunter Biden said he understood the criticism directed at the pardon, but stressed that he was the only person in the world who could have received such a decision from the only person able to grant it — his father. He acknowledged that the pardon was not a good outcome for the American people, the Constitution or his father's legacy, while saying he remained grateful for it.

He argued his father acted out of concern that he would become a target once Donald Trump's administration took office. Hunter Biden also denied that he and his father had ever discussed the possibility of a pardon beforehand, saying any such conversation could not have stayed private.

The pardon, granted in December 2024, covered Hunter Biden's federal gun conviction, a tax case to which he had pleaded guilty, and any federal offences committed between 2014 and 2024. Joe Biden had repeatedly said before the decision that he would not use presidential powers to intervene in his son's legal cases, but when announcing the pardon said his son had been "selectively and unfairly prosecuted".

Emotional moments over his father's health

Hunter Biden became emotional at several points while discussing his father's health, describing his cancer as having spread and calling it painful and debilitating. He said his father remained the centre of the family and was the best father, husband and grandfather.

He also recalled the June 2024 presidential debate that led to his father ending his re-election bid, saying he sensed immediately, while watching from his home in California, that something was wrong.