White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reminded CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond that invitations to a state dinner for a president’s relatives are “not uncommon” after asking about Hunter Biden’s invitation following a plea deal that he reached out to the Justice Department.
Biden reached a plea deal on gun and tax evasion charges on Tuesday, two days before attending a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the week.
Diamond asked Jean-Pierre on Friday if she could cut through President Joe Biden’s “thinking and deciding” regarding the invitation before biting back to the reporter’s question.
“I just don’t get into family discussions, personal family discussions. As you know, Hunter is his son. I just won’t go into that,’ Jean-Pierre replied.
Diamond then asked Jean-Pierre what would happen if Hunter Biden wasn’t related to the president.
“Well, let me ask you this: If Hunter Biden wasn’t the president’s son, would he have invited someone who just reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in two days…,” Diamond asked.
‘Well, a few [of] stuff. Again, that’s his son… he’s a relative. It is not uncommon for family members to attend White House events. We could look at past presidents; I’m sure you did. So that’s not unusual,’ said Jean-Pierre.
“Since it pertains to all things Hunter, I’m just not going to comment on it from here.”