Biden offers love and pride for son’s addiction recovery after guilty verdict

Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and US first lady Jill Biden leave federal court after the jury found him guilty of all three counts in his felony weapons trial, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. June 11, 2024. Photo by Hannah Beier/REUTERS.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden kept his distance from the courtroom where his son Hunter was tried on felony gun charges to avoid any appearance of interference, but his quick statement in response to the The jury’s guilty verdict Tuesday showed where his heart was all along. .

“Jill and I love our son and are very proud of the man he is today,” Biden wrote. “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.”

After the verdict was announced, the White House canceled Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s planned press briefing and announced that Biden would spend the evening in Delaware.

LEARN MORE: Hunter Biden found guilty on 3 counts in federal gun trial

Biden aides and allies privately worry about the toll a guilty verdict would have on the 81-year-old president, for whom personal loss is closely intertwined with his public life. They say the president is less worried about the personal political consequences he might face than worrying as a father about a son who is only a few years away from the throes of a serious drug addiction.

The verdict came shortly before the president delivered a speech on his administration’s efforts to limit gun violence and strengthen gun enforcement at a conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund in Washington.

From there, Biden will travel Tuesday afternoon to his home in Delaware, where he was scheduled to reunite with family, including Hunter, before leaving for Italy Wednesday morning to attend the Group of Seven summit. Biden spent more time than usual in Wilmington while the trial was underway, as part of a family show of support for Hunter.

First lady Jill Biden was in the courtroom almost every day — and traveled 24 hours from France to be there to testify Friday — but she narrowly missed being there when the verdict was handed down. fell on Tuesday. She returned to the courthouse just minutes after the foreman pronounced “guilty” three times. A group of other family members were present throughout the trial.

The president himself was not present in court, but followed the proceedings closely, with updates often coming from the first lady. Yet every day as Hunter arrived at the courthouse, he passed a portrait of his father on the wall as he walked through the doors.

Hunter Biden, in his own statement, like his father, spoke about family ties and the recovery process.

“I am more grateful today for the love and support I felt last week from Melissa, my family, my friends and my community than I am disappointed with the outcome,” said Hunter Biden said in a statement, first mentioning his wife. “Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience this gift one day at a time.”

The trial was a very personal tour of Hunter Biden’s drug use and mistakes. Jurors listened to hours of testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, a former girlfriend and his brother’s widow, who between them painted a picture of trips to strip clubs- tease, infidelity, habitual crack cocaine use and their failed efforts to help him get clean. Jurors saw images of the president’s son shirtless and disheveled in a dirty room and half-naked holding crack pipes. And they watched a video of him weighing crack on a scale.

Prosecutors argued the evidence was needed to prove to jurors that the 54-year-old was in the throes of an addiction when he purchased the gun, and therefore lied on a gun purchase form. gun when he said he was not illegally using drugs or addicted to drugs. .

“The evidence was personal. It was ugly and damning,” argued prosecutor Leo Wise. “It was also absolutely necessary.”

Wise encouraged jurors during deliberations to evaluate the evidence. Then he swept his hand across the room, ordering them to look at the gallery and at the group of Biden family members seated in the courtroom.

“All of this does not constitute proof,” he said. “People sitting in the gallery are not evidence.”

Even Republican critics acknowledged the pain felt by the Biden family.

“Anyone who has a child, I have children myself, anyone who has children, it’s devastating for them,” said Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.

AP’s Dan Huff contributed to this report.

LEFT:
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and US first lady Jill Biden leave federal court after the jury found him guilty of all three counts in his felony weapons trial, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. June 11, 2024. Photo by Hannah Beier/REUTERS.