WASHINGTON — Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter on Sunday night, a reversal for the president who has repeatedly said he would not use his executive power to pardon his son or commute his sentence.

“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with it, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice – and having made that decision this weekend, there was no point in delaying it. “I also hope that Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision,” Biden said in a statement.

Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal weapons charges. He is also scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in September.

The pardon is expected to cover both his gun possession conviction and his guilty plea.

A senior White House official told NBC News, which first reported the pardon decision, that the president decided to grant his son a pardon over the weekend and began briefing his senior aides on Sunday.

The president also discussed his son’s addiction issues in his statement Sunday evening and said his political opponents were trying to “break” him by targeting Hunter.

“No reasonable person looking at the facts of Hunter’s cases could come to any conclusion other than that Hunter was singled out simply because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said in his statement. “An attempt was made to break Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason for it. “I think it will stop here. Enough is enough.

A representative for special counsel David Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, declined to comment.

Biden, 82, is using his pardon power to ensure Hunter Biden spends no time in prison as his term in the White House comes to an end and there are no more elections. In recent months he had stated that he would neither pardon his son nor commute his sentence.

“I will not pardon him,” he said in June after a jury found Hunter Biden guilty of three federal weapons charges.

The president has been discussing pardoning his son with some of his closest aides at least since Hunter Biden’s conviction in June, said two people with direct knowledge of discussions on the issue. They said it was decided at the time that he would publicly state that he would not pardon his son, even though it remained on the table.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last month that Biden’s position had not changed.

“We have been asked this question several times. Our answer is no,” she said.

Asked Monday whether the president was still determined not to grant his son clemency, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said: “The president has spoken on that.” Asked whether Biden’s position had changed, Bates replied, “I have nothing to add to what he has already said.”

First Lady Jill Biden also said her husband would not pardon their son.

“Joe and I both respect the justice system, and that’s the bottom line,” she said in a June interview.

Hunter Biden’s criminal trial in June was the first involving the child of a sitting president.

His pardon after that trial would have ignited a political firestorm for his father, who was campaigning for re-election. Republicans have been attacking Hunter Biden for years over his foreign dealings and accusing him and the president of corruption. They have also argued that Hunter Biden received special treatment from the Justice Department because of his father’s political power.

Criticism of the Republican Party peaked in July 2023 when Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax and gun charges in a deal with federal prosecutors that fell through after a judge raised questions about it. That development prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland a few weeks later to appoint U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who is investigating Hunter Biden, as special counsel.

Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, but a pardon before last month’s election could also have resulted in a political setback for Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy after she took his place with Democrats.

Overall, the maximum sentence for Hunter Biden in the twelve counts in which Hunter Biden was convicted or pleaded guilty is 42 years in prison. However, convictions for these crimes typically do not carry the maximum penalties. For example, the Justice Department has stated that while the tax charge carries a maximum sentence of 17 years, penalties are typically lower.

Asked in an interview in June whether he would rule out pardoning his son, Biden replied: “Yes.”

Days later, after Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, on federal weapons charges, the president said in a statement that he would respect the result. He then told reporters that he would abide by the jury’s decision.

“I am extremely proud of my son Hunter,” Biden said. “He overcame an addiction. He is one of the wisest and most decent men I know, and I am content to do nothing. I said I supported the jury’s decision. I will do that and I will not forgive him.”

Neil Eggleston, President Barack Obama’s White House adviser, told NBC News on Monday: “If I were his White House lawyer, I would encourage him to pardon his son.” He said he was not from the White House contacted nor consulted on any pardon preparations.

“The clemency power has few limitations and would certainly extend to a pardon of Hunter Biden,” Eggleston said.

Eggleston’s opinion echoes those of other former Justice Department and White House officials who have previously been involved in presidential pardons and told NBC News they believe Biden should exercise that power before the new Trump administration.