President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will not challenge a federal jury’s verdict that found his son, Hunter Biden, guilty on three criminal gun charges.
“As I said last week, I am the president, but I am also a father. Jill and I love our son and we are very proud of who he is today,” Biden said in his first post since his only surviving son. said in the comments.
“Many families who have loved ones struggling with addiction understand the pride in seeing a loved one come out of trouble and remain so strong and resilient in recovery,” the president said.
“As I said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” Biden said.
He added that he and first lady Jill Biden “will always provide love and support to Hunter and the rest of our family. That will never change.”
The president and his family’s message of support for his son and the rule of law stood in sharp contrast to how Donald Trump and his family responded less than two weeks ago to a New York jury’s guilty verdict against the former president.
After being found guilty of falsifying business records, Trump accused his trial of being “grossly unfair” and claimed that “this should never be allowed to happen in the future.” His presidential campaign then launched a massive fundraising campaign, falsely claiming that he was a “political prisoner” and that his trial was “rigged.”
Hunter Biden said in a statement after Tuesday’s verdict that he was “disappointed in the outcome,” but added that he was grateful for the support from his wife, Melissa Biden, and family and friends.
“By the grace of God, recovery is possible, and I am blessed to one day experience this gift,” he said.
His lawyer, Abe Lowell, said: “We are naturally disappointed by today’s verdict.”
“We respect the jury process, as we have done throughout this case, and we will continue to aggressively pursue all legal challenges Hunter faces,” Lowell said.
A jury found 54-year-old Hunter Biden guilty on three counts related to his October 2018 purchase and possession of a revolver while using illegal drugs. Federal prosecutors accuse the president’s son of lying on a federal background check form when he claimed he did not use illegal drugs or be addicted to them.
The verdict, which came after two days and just three hours of deliberations, makes Hunter the first son of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted. He faces a separate trial on federal tax charges in September.
Speaking in Washington, D.C., late Tuesday, Joe Biden praised his administration’s gun safety record and its efforts to tighten gun regulations. He made no mention of his son’s guilty verdict in his speech.
Biden then traveled to Delaware to meet with his son. Hunter Biden and his wife and child Beau came to greet the president, who embraced his adult son on the airport tarmac upon arrival.
Hunter’s sentencing comes less than two weeks after Republican presidential candidate Trump was convicted in a New York state court of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Even as the current president’s son is indicted in two federal courts, Trump and his allies continue to spread the idea that the Justice Department has been used by Biden as a weapon against Trump.
Trump campaign spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt said after Hunter Biden’s sentencing that the gun trial was “nothing more than an attempt to distract from the true crimes of the Biden crime family.”
Meanwhile, former Trump national security aide Kash Patel called the Delaware verdict “a rare example of constitutional justice where individuals are not treated with prejudice because of their last name.”
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