Liberal MSNBC contributor speechless over Hunter Biden pardon: 'I have to process it ... I'm sorry'
Liberal MSNBC contributor Molly Jong-Fast was speechless on Sunday after hearing that President Biden would pardon his son Hunter Biden, admitting she had no response and needed time to "process" the news.
"I just want to alert you all to some breaking news that we’re getting. NBC is reporting that President Biden is expected to pardon his son, Hunter Biden," MSNBC guest host Melissa Murray said during a discussion. "According to NBC News, the president made the decision this weekend. Molly, fast and furious, what do you make of this new news?"
"I, so, I just heard it. I have to process it. I don’t have a take. I’m sorry," Jong-Fast responded.
Hunter Biden was first found guilty in June on three felony charges for federal gun violations and pleaded guilty in September in a separate felony tax case. President Biden had pledged earlier this year he would not pardon his son, and he received numerous plaudits from liberal media members for his great respect for the integrity of the justice system.
BIDEN WON'T PARDON HUNTER, WHITE HOUSE REAFFIRMS, BUT CRITICS AREN'T SO SURE
In reversing his earlier promise, President Biden suggested his son's prosecution had been unfairly conducted because of his famous name.
"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," Biden said in a statement. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."
Michelle Goldberg, a liberal New York Times columnist, said during the MSNBC discussion that Hunter Biden was treated unfairly.
"Joe Biden bent over backwards not to intervene in order to show, you know, sort of how much of a respecter of norms he was, unlike Donald Trump," she said. "But you know, we see kind of what that got him. And I certainly understand why [he] would not want to forfeit the future and life of his son to uphold a set of norms that are about to go up in smoke."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Hunter Biden said in a statement after he was pardoned that he had taken responsibility for his actions, alluding to his well-publicized drug addiction and scandalous past.
"I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport," he said in a statement to Fox News. "Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends."
Both President Biden and his chief spokesperson had repeatedly said he would not pardon his son.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre most recently said it last month after President-elect Trump was declared the winner over Vice President Kamala Harris.
"We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no," she told reporters.
Hunter Biden had been scheduled to be sentenced next week for his conviction on federal gun charges, as well as sentenced on Dec. 16 on a separate guilty plea for federal tax evasion, NBC News reported.