House Minority Leader Defends Biden’s Public Comments About Hunter’s Criminal Cases
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) defended President Joe Biden’s public comments on the criminal cases brought against his son Hunter Biden by a special counsel appointed by his administration.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, host Peter Alexander asked the top House Democrat about his thoughts on whether Biden was wrong in commenting on the trial set to begin this week.
“Let me ask you about another question that we’ll be watching and will make headlines this week. Hunter Biden, the president’s son, goes on trial for gun charges beginning tomorrow. President Biden said last year, quote, “My son has done nothing wrong,’” Alexander stated.
Presenting his question, Alexander continued, “The Wall Street Journal, as you see here, the editorial board said at the time, quote, ‘That’s a highly inappropriate message from a president. He’s essentially telling prosecutors that they are wrong to bring an indictment because Hunter is innocent of any criminal behavior.’ Why was it appropriate for President Biden to publicly comment on his son’s case?”
In response, Jeffries said that Biden “commented as a loving father, as I would hope any loving father would do.”
Top House Democrat Defends ‘Loving Father’ Biden, Says Hunter ‘Has Done Nothing Wrong’ https://t.co/Pn3ERwTbzz pic.twitter.com/Fbrh6e5LB6
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) June 2, 2024
“Hunter Biden of course is entitled, as was Donald Trump, to the presumption of innocence and to a trial by a jury of his peers,” he added, making a reference to former President Donald Trump’s legal issues, one of which returned a guilty verdict for the Republican presidential candidate on Thursday.
“And this Justice Department is going to proceed in that fashion, present the facts and the law. And then we’ll all have to wait for a determination that is made by a jury as to Hunter Biden’s guilt or innocence,” Jeffries said further.
Hunter is facing two criminal indictments that came out of the federal investigation into him by special counsel David Weiss.
In the drug-related case, which will begin this week in Wilmington, Delaware, he is accused of illegally purchasing and owning a gun while being addicted to drugs, which is a violation of federal law. Prosecutors allege that he lied on a form with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which a person is required to fill before buying a weapon.
Asked if he was an “unlawful user of, or addicted to” illegal drugs, the first son checked the box that said, “No.” His alleged lie bought him two felony counts while he was also charged with the actual possession of the gun, as possessing a gun while abusing drugs is a violation of federal law.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.