WATCH: White House Says ‘No’ Presidential Pardon for Hunter Biden

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “no” at a press briefing on Thursday when asked if President Joe Biden would pardon his son, Hunter Biden, as his legal troubles continue to worsen.

Jean-Pierre began the question-and-answer portion of the briefing by stating that Hunter Biden’s prosecution was a “personal” matter and reiterating that the president and first lady love their son, saying that she would not comment on a federal judge’s decision to reject a generous plea bargain that his lawyers had reached with the Department of Justice, which would have shielded him from future prosecution on related matters.

But when asked, “Is there any possibility that the president would end up pardoning his son?”

“No,” she said.

Given that Hunter Biden’s business dealings appear to have been facilitated by, or offered access to, his father, there is a risk that President Biden himself will be implicated in his misdeeds, despite denials of any knowledge.

That led George Washington University legal scholar Jonathan Turley to argue Thursday that the president might very well pardon his son, and then perhaps to announce that he himself would not run for reelection.

With the debacle in Delaware, there remains the ultimate "break-the-glass" option for the Bidens: the President could pardon his son and then announce that he will not run for reelection…https://t.co/vWWuZ9VHR5

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 27, 2023

The White House continues to insist that the Department of Justice is operating independently and free from political bias, while calling the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, David Weiss, a “Trump-appointed prosecutor.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.