President Biden has confided to his closest advisers that he fears his son, Hunter Biden, will end up in prison over his purchase of a handgun while allegedly addicted to crack cocaine, according to a report.
Aides to the 81-year-old president are worried that as Hunter’s June 3 trial start date in the felony gun case approaches, the commander in chief’s anxieties over his embattled son will only grow.
“He worries about Hunter every single day, from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep,” an adviser to Joe Biden told Politico. “That will only pick up during a trial.”
The president has “expressed fears” to at least three advisers about the potential prison sentence that might be handed down to Hunter if he’s convicted in the Delaware gun case, which has been brought by Joe Biden’s own Justice Department, according to the outlet.
It is expected that Joe Biden will watch some of the media coverage of Hunter’s trial and continue to check in on his son daily – through calls and text messages – as the legal proceedings play out, his advisers said.
The White House, however, will not be setting up any “war room” to react to the days events in Delaware, leaving it up to Hunter’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, to defend the first son in both the courtroom and in the press.
Hunter has pleaded not guilty to the three felony charges brought by special counsel David Weiss related to his October 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver, which include two counts of making false statements and one count of firearm possession by an unlawful substance abuser.
Efforts by Hunter’s legal team to throw out the case and delay the start of the trial have thus far been rejected by US District Judge Maryellen Noreika and the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
If convicted, the felonies carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Hunter is also facing nine counts related to tax fraud filed against him in Southern California by Weiss’ team of prosecutors.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges in that case, which is scheduled to go to trial on June 20.