A former Trump campaign adviser has suggested Donald Trump should pardon Hunter Biden if he “commits” to a sobriety program as an act of “humanity” that would surprise Democrats.
David Urban, who advised the former president’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, told CNN’s Erica Hill on Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s stance on pardoning his son versus commutating a potential sentence was “all too cute by half.”
“You’re either going to do it or you’re not going to do it,” Urban said.
He added: “Listen what I would like to see happen is I’d like to see President Trump come out with a statement saying, ‘Look if Hunter Biden commits to a program of sobriety, an in-patient, or maybe out-patient, shows up, keeps his sobriety, I’ll pardon him’.”
On Tuesday, a jury found Hunter Biden guilty on three federal counts of gun-related charges for lying about his prior drug use to unlawfully obtain a firearm.
The president’s son has not been sentenced yet but the charges carry a maximum sentencing of 25 years.
Already, President Biden has said he will not pardon his son but the White House did not rule out the possibility of the president commutating, or reducing, his son’s sentence should he receive one.
It is unlikely Hunter Biden will be sentenced to jail given he is a first-time nonviolent offender and defendants who have faced similar charges do not receive harsh sentences.
But regardless of sentencing, Urban said he would “love” to see Trump fully pardon Hunter Biden should he win re-election in November.
“I’d be a magnanimous offer on his part, shows humanity and really flip the tables on the Democrats,” Urban said.
Hunter Biden’s conviction is being used in tandem with Trump’s conviction by Democrats and Republicans to scrutinize one another.
Democrats claim Republicans are hypocritical for accepting Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict but declaring Trump’s to be “rigged”.
Some Republicans have suggested Hunter Biden’s conviction is a “distraction” from other alleged crimes that they believe should have been brought against the president’s son.
