Hunter Biden will not receive a pardon from his father before January 20, 2025, the White House reiterated on Thursday. The first son could be facing prison time after being convicted on gun possession charges over the summer, and pleading guilty to tax crimes in September. 

President Biden first asserted that he would neither pardon his son, nor commute his sentence, before leaving office during an interview with ABC News during his trip to France for the anniversary of the D-Day invasion. At the time the president made that promise, his son’s gun crimes trial was ongoing. 

But that was before Vice President Harris lost the presidential race to President Trump, leaving Mr. Biden with little to lose if he just pardoned his son. Hunter has argued that he’s the victim of persecution because of his father.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made clear that the president stands by that promise. 

“We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said Thursday when asked if the first son would receive any relief from his father. 

Biden is set to be sentenced in December for his June conviction on three charges related to his 2018 purchase of a firearm in Delaware while addicted to crack cocaine. A jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that he did illegally buy a revolver during his active use of drugs, traveled with it across state lines, and lied to the federal government on an official form. He faces up to ten years in prison and a hefty fine, but given his lack of prior criminal history, it is highly unlikely he would receive such a sentence. 

Hunter could facing even harsher punishment after being convicted of  avoiding paying more than a million dollars in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September, citing the “embarrassment” for the Biden family that emanated from his Delaware gun case that saw prosecutors pull salacious text messages, emails, and details about his sex life from his infamous laptop. 

Prosecutors alleged that Hunter earned more than $8 million over the course of four years, avoided paying taxes on that income while also taking improper deductions, including writing off his daughter’s college tuition payments and his stay at a Los Angeles hotel as business expenses. 

During that period of time, prosecutors said Biden spent more than $1 million cash withdrawals from banks and hundreds of thousands of dollars on payments to “various women.” 

Like with his gun case in Delaware, Biden is due to be sentenced in California in December.