Hunter Biden trial: Jill and I love our son, says president
Joe Biden’s son could face jail if convicted of lying about his drug addiction when applying to buy a gun.
The president said he had “boundless love” for his son as Hunter Biden arrived in court yesterday (Monday) to face a criminal trial on federal gun charges.
Hunter, 54, whose personal and financial troubles have dogged his father’s presidency, is charged with lying about his addiction to crack cocaine when he filled out a form to buy a gun in Delaware in 2018. He has pleaded not guilty but if convicted he faces the possibility of jail time.
The trial of the president’s surviving son is an unwelcome distraction for the Democratic incumbent who will face Donald Trump at the ballot box in five months’ time. It is set to reopen deep wounds for the first family, with prosecutors laying out vivid personal accounts of Hunter’s addiction in court documents before the trial.
In the depths of his addiction to crack cocaine in 2018, Hunter Biden texted Hallie Biden, his lover and the widow of his brother Beau, who died in 2015: “I’m a liar and a thief and a blamer and a user and I’m delusional and an addict ... and I’ve ruined every relationship I’ve ever cherished.”
Jury selection began yesterday (Monday), less than a week after Trump was convicted on all 34 counts in his New York hush money case, becoming the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Despite the potential embarrassment surrounding Hunter’s case and the disruption to the re-election campaign, the Biden family rallied around him in a show of unity.
Hunter arrived accompanied by family members, including his stepmother Jill Biden, the first lady. She was present for jury selection, sitting in the second row, with Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and his sister, Ashley Biden. According to reports, she followed the interview of the jurors closely, jotting down notes in a white legal pad.
The president did not appear but issued a statement saying: “I am the president, but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. As the president, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as a dad I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.”
The president is preparing for a pivotal month in his campaign for re-election. Over the course of the three-week trial, he will make two foreign trips and hold a star-studded fundraiser in California with George Clooney, Julia Roberts and the former president Barack Obama.
The jury is expected to deliver its verdict just as Biden is rehearsing for his crucial first TV debate with Trump on June 27. Hunter Biden also faces another trial, in September, over an alleged scheme to avoid taxes on his income as a businessman working overseas.
The Times
