Hunter Biden weighed in on pardons as Biden used autopen, Zients tells lawmakers

WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden weighed in on pardons signed by his father, President Joe Biden, toward the end of the administration, Jeff Zients told a House committee Thursday, according to sources familiar with his testimony. A second source with knowledge of Zients's transcribed Capitol Hill interview said Biden valued input from a wide variety of advisors and experts but always made the final decisions himself.

Zients said that Hunter Biden attended a few meetings during the waning days of the Biden administration and weighed in on the clemency discussions. The testimony described how the president relied on a broad circle of advisers and experts but retained final say. Just hours before leaving the White House, Biden granted blanket pardons to all family members except Hunter, shielding them from future federal prosecution.

The final call on clemencies was made with the president’s approval, and an email at 10:31 p.m. on Jan. 19 authorized the use of the autopen to execute all of the pardons and commutations. The Times reported the autopen was used for 11th-hour clemencies, with Hunter’s pardon for tax and gun felonies among the few hand-signed records.

In internal West Wing and Justice Department emails, officials questioned which offenders actually qualified for clemency and whether the outgoing president had properly approved several measures. Associate Deputy Attorney General Brad Weinsheimer wrote about interpreting the language in the warrant, and staff secretary Stefanie Feldman referenced email chains confirming the process when the president signs off.

The autopen was used on 25 warrants for pardons and commutations, affecting roughly 5,000 prisoners in total, with 1,500 sentences commuted and 39 federal inmates pardoned. About 37 death-row sentences were commuted. Biden has repeatedly said he made every decision on the clemencies, while Trump and others have attacked the autopen approach as improper. The Justice Department has not said whether aides overrode the president’s authority, though the former president has criticized the practice.

Among clemencies, Hunter Biden’s pardon covered tax and gun felonies and shielded him from future prosecution for possible crimes between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 10, 2024. The only hand-signed record among the final months’ clemencies was Hunter’s, the notes indicate. Biden, in a July interview with The Times, said he orally approved the decision but relied on the autopen for the final signatures.

The disclosures come as lawmakers scrutinize the ethics and mechanics of the clemency process during the final days of the administration. Officials described a process marked by internal debate over who had final authority and how to confirm that the president’s orders had been executed by staff.