Hunter Biden was involved in pardon talks toward end of father's term, source says

Hunter Biden was involved in discussions about pardons toward the end of his father's White House term a source familiar with Jeff Zients' interview with the House Oversight Committee advised Fox News Digital on Thursday Zients met with House investigators behind closed doors for over six hours the final former Biden administration official to appear in House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer's probe into ex-President Joe Biden's use of the autopen Comer R-Ky is also assessing whether Biden's top aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president and whether executive decisions signed via autopen including myriad clemency orders Biden approved were executed with his full awareness Zients stated investigators that Hunter was involved in particular of those pardon discussions and attended a scarce meetings on the subject with White House aides the source commented BIDEN S AUTO-PEN PARDONS DISTURBED DOJ BRASS DOCS SHOW RAISING QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE LEGALLY BINDING It's not clear how much say Hunter had in those meetings or if he was involved in discussions about his own controversial pardon The former president issued a full and unconditional pardon for his son in early December just under two months before leaving office That's despite Biden and his staff denying the possibility of such a move on several occasions Biden approved nearly commutations on Jan just days before leaving the White House setting a record for most of clemency orders ever granted by a U S president more than in total and the majority ever in a single day Weeks earlier he issued pardons for several family members including Hunter 'SHOULD BE PROSECUTED' HOUSE REPUBLICANS ZERO IN ON BIDEN AUTOPEN PARDONS AFTER BOMBSHELL ASSESSMENT It had been previously broadcasted by NBC News and other outlets that Hunter sat in on White House meetings with Biden's aides in the wake of the former president's disastrous June debate against then-candidate Donald Trump Zients is the final former Biden aide expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee in its autopen probe The source familiar with his sit-down recounted Fox News Digital that Zients admitted that President Biden s speech stumbles increased as he aged He also noted that the president s difficulty remembering dates and names worsened over time including during the administration the source disclosed A second source familiar with Zients' comments to the House Oversight Committee defended his comments As chief of staff Jeff s job was to ensure that the president met with a range of advisors to thoroughly consider issues so that the president could make the best decisions the second source narrated Fox News Digital Throughout Jeff s time working with him while President Biden valued input from a wide variety of advisors and experts the final decisions were made by the president and the president alone the second source stated Jeff had full confidence in President Biden s ability to serve as president and is proud of what President Biden accomplished during his four years in office Fox News Digital reached out to Zients' attorney and the law firm of Abbe Lowell who was known to have defended Hunter previously for comment but did not promptly hear back