Trump open to pardoning Hunter Biden, "despite what they've done to me"
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Former President Trump on Oct. 21 in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Former President Trump indicated he'd consider pardoning Hunter Biden if he's reelected during an interview that aired Thursday with conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt.
The big picture: Trump has long dished out attacks against the legal issues facing President Biden's son, who was convicted in June in a federal gun trial and who pleaded guilty last month in a federal tax evasion case
- President Biden has said he would not pardon his son.
Driving the news: Asked directly if he would pardon Hunter Biden, Trump said, "I wouldn't take it off the books."
- He continued, "See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they've done to me, where they've gone after me so viciously ... and Hunter's a bad boy. There's no question about it. He's been a bad boy. All you had to do is see the laptop from hell."
- Trump added, "But I happen to think it's very bad for our country."
Between the lines: Trump has for years claimed the legal challenges against him are political retribution, but there's no proof the Biden administration weaponized the Justice Department against him.
- The allegations about Hunter Biden's laptop stem from the release of Biden's private digital data, which exposed embarrassing revelations and fueled a wave of Republican attacks.
- President Biden and his supporters have argued the release of information from the laptop had the makings of a Russian disinformation campaign.
- The laptop and information it contained were used as evidence against Biden in his federal criminal trial, in which he was found guilty of three felony gun charges.
What he's saying: As part of his response about pardoning Hunter Biden, Trump referenced former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's alleged misuse of a private email server for sensitive information.
- "I could have gotten Hillary Clinton very easily," Trump said.
- "I could have had her put in jail," he said, referencing the "lock her up" chants of his 2016 presidential campaign.
- "I decided I didn't want to do that. I thought it would look terrible," Trump added.
