Questions swirl about Hunter Biden pardon amid father's presidential campaign exit

President Joe Biden set off a political shockwave on Sunday when he announced that he would withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

While Biden quickly made it clear that he was supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for their party's nomination, less obvious were the potential implications of his decision on the legal face of his embattled son, Hunter, whom many suspected might receive a pardon from the commander in chief, as Fox News reports.

White House weighs in

Now that Joe Biden's days with pardon power have a definitive end in store, speculation understandably turned to whether he would take advantage of his remaining time in office to grant clemency to Hunter, who was convicted earlier this year on federal gun charges and is also facing trial on multiple tax counts this fall.

Back in June, the White House, via press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, reiterated a prior commitment from Joe Biden not to offer his son a presidential pardon, as PBS reported at the time.

Joe Biden himself had told ABC News a week earlier that he had no plans to confer a pardon, and Jean-Pierre told Fox News Digital, “He was very clear, very upfront, obviously very definitive” on the issue.

“But on a commutation,” Jean-Pierre added, “I just don't have anything beyond that,” a statement that suggested to many that the door to some form of clemency had indeed been left open.

This past week, in the wake of Joe Biden's withdrawal from presidential contention, the administration – through spokesman Andrew Bates – again told Fox News Digital that his prior statements regarding a pardon were still in effect.

Skepticism abounds

Not everyone is convinced that Joe Biden, as he plans to depart the presidency in what some have suggested is a cloud of anger and resentment about the manner in which he was pushed aside, will stay true to his word about respecting the outcome rendered in his son's criminal cases.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is among those who believe President Biden will provide his only remaining son with a very valuable parting gift from his administration.

“I'm going to place the odds that Joe Biden pardons Hunter Biden at 100%,” the lawmaker said Monday on his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast.

The senator went on, “It will not happen till after Election Day. He's not going to do it before Election Day.”

“But he's going to stick around. And after Election Day, I believe it is not 100% that Joe Biden will pardon Hunter,” Cruz concluded.

Hunter's fate in the balance

The first son's sentencing in his gun case is poised to take place no later than early October, and while he could theoretically face up to 25 years in prison, such a lengthy term has been widely deemed unlikely, though some time behind bars is not out of the question.

Hunter Biden's tax trial in California is slated to begin on Sept. 5, and if he is convicted in that court, his existing criminal record may boost his chances of incarceration and push the current president even closer to granting the pardon he previously declared off the table.