For months, President Joe Biden relentlessly insisted there was no chance of offering his son Hunter a pardon.
But he ultimately changed his mind, emerging from a Thanksgiving vacation at a $36 million Nantucket compound on Sunday to drop the bombshell announcement he would be saving Hunter from a potential jail term.
DailyMail.com can now reveal what really happened during that five-day stay on a chilly Massachusetts island and the lead up to the holiday that prompted Biden to make the call – no matter the stain on his legacy.
The decision came after a week of intense family time, including a baby shower for his first great-grandchild and being cocooned with his wife and children on Nantucket’s inner harbor.
At the heart of the 82-year-old’s decision was family, both Joe Biden’s unconditional love for his and the deep loyalty the Bidens’ have for one another.
Leading the charge was Jill Biden, known as her son’s ‘biggest defender.’ With her at the Nantucket compound were Hunter himself, wife Melissa and the Bidens’ daughter Ashley.
Biden’s devotion to his family is no secret.
President Joe Biden with son Hunter and grandson Beau on Nantucket for Thanksgiving
Ashley Biden posted a thank you message to her father on her instagram story after President Biden announced Hunter’s pardon
He watched over his two young sons in the hospital after the 1972 car crash that killed his first wife and daughter.
He buried Beau – the political heir to the Biden dynasty – in 2015 after his oldest son succumbed to brain cancer.
And he has privately anguished about Hunter’s addiction, the fear of its return a constant weight on his shoulders.
His family was grateful for his decision.
‘Thank you dad. What they have tried to do to my brother is cruel + politically motivated. Period. Proud sister + daughter,’ Ashley Biden wrote on her Instagram story after Hunter’s pardon was announced.
And two of Hunter’s biggest advocates had the president’s ear over the past 10 days – Jill Biden and Naomi Biden Neal.
Neal, Hunter’s oldest daughter, had her baby shower in the Blue Room of the White House on Saturday, November 23. She is due with the president’s first great-grandchild – and Hunter’s first grandchild – in the next few weeks.
Biden was seen stopping by, cup of coffee in hand, to talk with guests over their eggs benedict and pancakes.
And then there’s the first lady.
‘Hunter has no greater defender than Jill,’ a source familiar said.
Jill Biden’s influence with Joe Biden should not be underestimated. She is the last voice in his ear.
And she has been steadfast in her support for Hunter, traversing the Atlantic Ocean multiple times in June during his gun trial, to both be at his side while participate in a state visit to France.
During that same trial, Naomi Biden Neal took the stand to defend her father. And, after Hunter’s conviction, the president vowed not to pardon his son.
Naomi Biden, unlike previous years, didn’t accompany the Bidens to Nantucket. Neither did her sisters, Finnegan and Maisy. But Biden talks to his grandchildren every day.
And this trip was different from past ones. The Bidens have been going to the island off the coast of Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday for 49 years. But none of their eldest grandchildren with them. So instead of the large family gathering of a dozen members, it was just six of them.
Jill Biden with Hunter, his wife Melissa, their son Beau and Ashley Biden on Friday at the Nantucket Christmas tree lighting
The 13,000 foot home belonging to David Rubenstein where the Bidens stayed on Nantucket
The Biden family – above Joe, Jill, Hunter, Melissa and Baby Beau – have been going to Nantucket for Thanksgiving for 49 years
And Hunter stayed behind closed doors for most of the Nantucket stay, In previous years, he, wife Melissa and son Beau have gone into the downtown area for coffee and shopping.
This year, he was only seen at the family lunch and shopping on Friday and attending church with his father on Saturday.
And the only senior aides staffing the president were longtime aides Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal. She, a deputy chief of staff, runs the West Wing, and Bernal, Jill Biden’s top adviser, runs the East Wing.
Each has been with the Bidens for decades proceeding the White House.
In the Biden administration, they have more power than chief of staff Jeff Zients. And they are more feared.
And neither Tomasini nor Bernal is included to tell Joe Biden what he doesn’t want to hear.
‘They don’t tell the president no unless it’s coming from Jill Biden,’ a source familiar said.
Biden has always turned to family in tough times: sister Valerie helped him care for his boys after their mom and sister died and he was making a daily commute to Washington D.C. as a newly-elected senator.
He locked himself in Camp David with Jill, Hunter and his grandchildren after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump in June.
And he was with the first lady at Rehoboth Beach when he decided to drop out of the race. The whole Biden family surrounded him in the Oval Office when he explained his decision to the nation.
And family was at the top of mind this past week.
Asked Thursday by DailyMail.com what he was thankful for, Biden’s first response was: ‘My family.’
One family member there was young Beau Biden, Hunter’s four-year-old son and the future of the Biden clan.
Both the president and first lady adore their grandson. President Biden held his hand as they walked through the streets of Nantucket shopping on Friday. Jill Biden brought him with her last Monday when she received the national Christmas Tree at the White House.
Jill Biden is known to be the family member who holds a grudge – and pushes out those she sees as betraying Team Biden.
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s first wife, found herself on the outskirts after divorcing Hunter and writing about his struggles with addiction and its affect the drug use, cheating and money spending had on the family.
Her book came after Hunter published his own memoir but that didn’t matter. Kathleen was out, including out of the planning on Naomi Biden’s wedding. When Hunter’s eldest daughter married at the White House in November 2022, it was nicknamed ‘Jill’s wedding.’
The first lady took center stage, including appearing with Naomi on the cover of Vogue.
In contrast, Melissa Cohen has been embraced. She and Hunter met in 2019 and married six days later. Hunter has credited her with helping with his sobriety.
Baby Beau leads President Joe Biden while shopping in Nantucket as Hunter Biden walks with them
Jill Biden is Hunter Biden’s biggest defender
Naomi Biden (left), with husband Peter Neal, leaves dad Hunter’s trial in June
In the end, it was Biden made his decision to pardon his son. But he made it in the bubble of his family.
And then he left for Africa, leaving his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to try and explain the change in his position.
But he still has his family’s support.
‘Of course I support the pardon of my son,’ Jill Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk