Moment CNN host predicted Biden would pardon Hunter months before he made controversial decision
A resurfaced clip shows recently ousted CNN anchor Chris Wallace predicting Joe Biden's presidential pardon of his son.
The segment was filmed back in June, days before Biden would assure those gathered to watch him sign an agreement strengthening 'economic cooperation' between the US and Ukraine that he would not hand out a pardon.
At the time, the president declared he felt comfortable his son Hunter was being treated fairly by feds, and that he would abide by any decision reached by a jury.
A half-a-year and a guilty plea later, Biden backtracked - issuing a last-minute pardon for any crimes the 54-year-old may have committed 'from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024', he wrote in a statement.
Many - including big names like MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough - bought Biden's story at the time, waxing poetic about the president putting a premium on justice rather than his family.
Wallace, meanwhile, was one of those who remained unconvinced - with the seasoned newsman seen telling panelists on June 10's edition of The Chris Wallace Show how he'd 'wait and see what happens if he loses.'
He and commentator Jonah Goldberg were the only two to cast doubt on the claims, which at the time came in the form of a then-fresh assertion from Biden delivered days earlier, after being asked about the prospect of a pardon by ABC News' David Muir.
The president answered a curt 'Yes' to two inquiries - the first being that he would accept the jury's outcome no matter what, and the second being whether he'd 'ruled out a pardon'. The rest of the June clip, meanwhile, shows Wallace doubling down on his remarks.
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A resurfaced clip shows then-CNN anchor Chris Wallace predicting Joe Biden's presidential pardon of his son back in June - before being ousted following reports that officials had been mulling a pay cut for the 77-year-old newsman
![Wallace, meanwhile, was one of those who remained unconvinced - with the seasoned newsman seen telling panelists on June 10's edition of The Chris Wallace Show how he'd 'wait and see what happens if [Biden] loses'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/02/17/92708229-14149527-image-m-15_1733160145694.jpg)
Wallace, meanwhile, was one of those who remained unconvinced - with the seasoned newsman seen telling panelists on June 10's edition of The Chris Wallace Show how he'd 'wait and see what happens if [Biden] loses'
'Yes. But [Biden] said it. He said he would...' panelist Lulu Garcia-Navarro is first heard stammering in response.
'What was he going to say? He has to say that,' an incredulous Wallace replied, before being backed up by a slightly more staunch Goldberg.
'So we don’t know if Hunter Biden is actually going to be found guilty,' the conservative commentator and columnist eventually concluded, before offering his personal opinion.
'I think he will,' he said.
The snippet was re-shared in a several-minutes-long supercut published to X Monday morning, as the world reacted to Biden's abrupt about-face.
The clip surrounding Wallace was one of the few to show a pundit actually getting it right - with the rest of the compilation showing personalities like Kaitlan Collins, Morning Joe hosts Brzezinski and Scarborough, and the View's Ana Navarro seen doing the exact opposite.
Currently going viral, the mashup itself comes less than a month removed from Wallace's abrupt ouster from CNN after three years, following reports officials had been pondering a pay cut for the broadcaster, who has also anchored for CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox News.
Now 77, Wallace has said he left on his own accord, but Puck was reportedly told by insiders the veteran newsman was told by brass how his two shows would be nixed and his salary cut if he would sign on for another year. He had been making $7 million annually.
President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden walk in downtown Nantucket on Friday, November 29, 2024, a day before President Biden issued a pardon
Pictured, the president on June 13, where he told those gathered to watch him sign an agreement with Ukrainian President Zelensky promising the country more money that he would not pardon Hunter
President Biden's son Hunter, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in September to a four-year scheme that saw him purposely circumvent $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes owed from 2016 through 2019 - paving the way for Sunday's pardon.
The political scion also owned up to another instance of tax evasion that occurred in 2018, when he filed false returns. The offense falls within the 10-year timeframe described in the document by the president.
A separate felony federal firearms sentencing in Delaware set for later this month that had been publishable by up to 25 years was also undone by the presidential order, which simultaneously quashed the max penalty of 17 years in the other case as well.
Moreover, upon issuing the pardon, Biden shied away from another path he could have taken before leaving office - commuting either or both of the prospective sentences.
Instead, he went back on his word - which he maintained in his statement to the AMerican public on June 13 beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
'I'm extremely proud of my son Hunter,' he said at the time, before bowing out of the since-settled presidential race.
'He has overcome an addiction. He's one of the brightest most decent men I know. And I am satisfied,' he continued at the time. 'I said I abide by the jury decision and I will do that. I will not pardon him.'
Biden reportedly arrived at the decision to pardon Hunter over Thanksgiving, after spending time with family at his home in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Days before, a jury found Biden guilty in June of making false statements on a gun background check - a case that, like the one alleging fraud on the part of the political scion, now can no longer be revisited.
Biden reportedly arrived at the decision to pardon Hunter over Thanksgiving, after spending time with family at his home in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
In a statement, he said he 'wrestled' with the decision - but sources on Monday told CNN he began telling staff about the pardon as early as Saturday evening.
He has not commented further on the pardon.
