President Joe Biden addressed Hunter Biden’s possible prosecution Tuesday evening, the first time he has responded to the ongoing investigation into his son’s possible tax crimes and alleged false statement on a gun background check.
“This thing about a gun, I didn’t know anything about it,” Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. The president repeatedly praised his son, saying he’s “proud” of him.
“Turns out that when he made application to purchase a gun, what happened was — I guess — I don’t guess, you could ask the question are you on drugs or use drugs, he said no. And he wrote about saying no in his book. So, I have great confidence in my son. I love him and he’s on the straight and narrow and he has been for a couple years now, and I’m just so proud of him,” Biden said.
The president then spoke about how his son was “hooked on drugs,” but that he’s “overcome that and he’s established a new life.”
Prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden over the allegations, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the case. Whether the charges will be filed will be decided by U.S. Attorney District Court for the District of Delaware, David Weiss, who is a holdover from the Trump administration. (RELATED: Federal Agents Believe They Have Enough Evidence To Charge Hunter Biden: REPORT)
The alleged tax crimes relate to his time on the board of Ukrainian gas giant Burisma and his alleged failure to report that income.
The gun charges would stem from a firearm application he submitted in 2018, in which he claimed he was not “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.” The first son later revealed in a book that he had used crack cocaine during that time period.