CNN reporter Manu Raju criticized President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, despite vowing not to do so repeatedly during his term in office.
Raju, chief congress correspondent for the Warner Bros.-owned news channel. Discovery criticized the move on Monday as a “stain on the [Joe Biden’s] legacy.” His comments were reported by Mediaite.
“He would be dishonest with the American public if he were to issue a pardon,” Raju told CNN host Dana Bash on Monday’s edition of “Inside Politics.”
“They said very clearly right before the election when he was interviewed, when he was still in the race a few months out, that he was not going to issue a pardon,” he said, adding: “He said that repeatedly.”
Raju also noted that Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s White House press secretary, also “repeatedly told the American public.”
“They were not fair to the American public,” Raju said of Biden and his administration officials.
“And people remember that.”
Raju agreed with Bash, who noted that President-elect Donald Trump pardoned close friends, family members and associates during his first term in office, including Charles Kushner, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn among others.
A Democratic Party strategist hit back at Raju for his criticism of Biden, telling The Post: “Like last month’s election results, this is a revealing example of how out of touch the D.C. elites are with ordinary Americans”.
The strategist said Republican attacks on Hunter Biden “barely registered with the American people” and that the public “will relate to a father who loves his hurting son.”
Biden, 82, claimed he forgave his son, who was convicted of federal gun charges and federal tax evasion charges earlier this year, after he saw him being “selectively and unfairly” prosecuted.
Hunter Biden, 54, pleaded guilty in September to nine charges, including defrauding Americans of $1.4 million in taxes. He also pleaded guilty to three federal gun charges in June after being accused of possessing a firearm while under the influence of illegal drugs.
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
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