Joe Biden says he will ‘respect the legal process’ as Hunter considers appeal

“So many families with loved ones battling addiction understand the feeling of pride in seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in their recovery,” the president said.

“As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and continue to respect the legal process while Hunter considers an appeal,” Biden said.

He added that he and first lady Jill Biden “will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.”

The message of support from the president and his family – for his son and the rule of law – contrasted with how Donald Trump and his own clan responded to a New York jury’s guilty verdict against the former president less than two weeks earlier.

Trump, after being convicted of falsifying business records, denounced his trial as “very unfair” and asserted 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 by the outcome” but added that he was grateful for the support he received from his wife, Melissa Biden, as well as his family and friends.

“Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience this gift one day at a time,” he said.

His lawyer, Father Lowell, said: “We are understandably disappointed by today’s verdict. »

“We respect jury procedure and, as we have throughout this case, we will continue to vigorously pursue any legal challenges Hunter may face,” Lowell said.

The jury found Hunter Biden, 54, guilty of three counts related to his October 2018 purchase and possession of a revolver while using illegal drugs. Federal prosecutors have accused the president’s son of lying on a form used for a federal background check when he claimed he did not use or be addicted to illegal drugs.

The verdict, delivered after just three hours of deliberations over two days, made Hunter the first son of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted of crimes. He will face a separate trial on federal tax charges in September.

Joe Biden is expected Tuesday afternoon to tout his administration’s record on gun safety and its efforts to “reduce crime and keep guns out of dangerous hands,” the White House said.

Hunter’s verdict came less than two weeks after Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was convicted in a New York state court of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump and his allies have continued to spread the claim that the Justice Department was used by Biden as a weapon against Trump, despite the outgoing president’s own son being prosecuted in two federal courts.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said after Hunter Biden’s verdict that the gun trial was “nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden crime family.”

Former Trump national security adviser Kash Patel, meanwhile, called the Delaware verdict “a rare example of constitutional justice, where individuals are not treated in a biased manner based on their last name.”

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