by Philip Wegmann
President Biden stepped off Marine One, walked across the tarmac at the Delaware Air National Guard base and embraced his son Hunter, a convicted felon.
On Tuesday, for the first time in American history, the child of a sitting president was convicted of a crime. The news complicates life for Biden ahead of the election and forced the first family to make a hasty and literal retreat. The president was to remain in the White House. Instead, after his sentencing, he retired to his estate in Wilmington.
Hours earlier, a federal jury found Hunter Biden guilty of three crimes related to the illegal purchase of a handgun. The president’s son, a self-admitted crack addict, bought a .38-caliber Colt Cobra in 2018. The court found that he lied during a background check and claimed he was not using illegal drugs at the time of the purchase. He faces possible prison time. His lawyers promise to file an appeal. His father, the president, will not forgive him.
Biden said as much last week in an interview with ABC News. When asked if he would accept the outcome of the trial, he replied, “Yes.” Asked if he had ruled out the possibility of pardoning his last living son, Biden replied: “Yes.” For political reasons, the president could not do anything else.
When his predecessor, former President Trump, was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, Biden said the verdict “reaffirmed” the principle that in America no one is above the law, adding that challenging the justice system is not just about ” irresponsible” but “dangerous.” His own son was now caught in the jaws of this system.
The jury deliberations in Delaware lasted just three hours, and when they announced their decision, the White House quickly released a statement from Biden pointing to his role as both president and parent.
“I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process while Hunter hears the appeal,” Biden said.
“Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with love and support. Nothing will ever change that,” he continued.
If the appeal fails, Biden could still save his son from prison. A presidential commutation is still possible. However, the administration was reluctant to engage in speculation on the day Hunter Biden became regrettable history. Instead, the White House canceled its daily news conference and the president stayed away from reporters. He will leave on Wednesday for the G7 meeting in Italy.
The latest remarks Biden is likely to make in the United States were made during a gun control summit hosted by the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund at the Washington Hilton hotel. He called for a ban on assault weapons, highlighted novel criminal penalties for people making illegal straw purchases and announced novel FBI data showing that crime is sinking across the country. Illinois Democrat and Republican Robin Kelly, who attended the meeting, summed up the comments “inspiring.” But “ironic” might be a better word.
Although Biden made no mention of his son, the president called for novel requirements for the unthreatening storage of firearms, saying this to the crowds “We should hold families accountable if they do not provide locks for these weapons.”
A key part of prosecutors’ case against his son a week earlier: security footage of Biden’s daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden, throwing her first son’s gun into a dumpster behind a local grocery store after discovering the gun in an open glove in the box of her brother-in-law’s truck. She testified that she “paniced,” worried that Hunter Biden, who was gripped by addiction, might hurt himself or that her children would discover the unsecured gun.
While Biden had no doubts about the court, his post-conviction comments stand in stark contrast to his previous public denials. As a 2020 candidate, he deflected accusations that Hunter Biden misused his name, and as president last May, he told MSNBC that “my son didn’t do anything wrong. I trust him. I believe in him.” That trust will continue to be tested as Hunter Biden navigates the legal system.
In American politics, the traces of the courtroom and the campaign are increasingly beginning to fade. Trump was convicted in May; son of the incumbent president, in June. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just days before he accepts the Republican nomination at the GOP convention in Milwaukee; Biden the Democratic nomination in August in Chicago. Republicans are already arguing that the president’s son got off basic, a point Trump will raise during a debate with Biden later this month in Atlanta.
The Trump campaign dismissed Hunter Biden’s conviction as “nothing more than a distraction from the true crimes of the Biden crime family.” Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, hailed the decision as a “step toward accountability,” but complained that until the Justice Department paid attention to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, “it will be clear that department officials continue to engage in Big Guy Joe Biden.”
For Hunter Biden, a conviction was not inevitable. His lawyers rejected the plea deal last summer, balking when they discovered in the courtroom that the plea deal did not protect the defendant from all future charges. Instead, Hunter chose to admit that he was “not guilty,” a decision that now haunts him. He’s not out of the legal woods either.
Special counsel David Weiss said the verdict showed that “no one in this country is above the law. Everyone must be responsible for their actions, even the accused.” He added that “Hunter Biden should be held no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of the same conduct.”
After thanking Attorney General Merrick Garland for providing him with the support and space necessary to review the case, Weiss added: “As you know, we have additional processes and investigative work to complete. Therefore, I will not ask questions at this time. Our work continues.”
This was a reference to another federal case involving Hunter Biden. Weiss has filed nine federal tax charges against the president’s son, and the case includes recurrent references to his past work for foreign companies in Ukraine and China, which is at the heart of Republicans’ allegations of influence peddling. This process begins in September.
The presidential campaigns of Trump, a convicted felon, and Biden, a father of felons, continue.
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Philip Wegmann reports for RealClearPolitics.
“Hunter Biden and Joe Biden” photo by Ben Stanfield. CC BY-SA 2.0.
