White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer questions about Hunter Biden’s indictment at Friday’s press briefing.
The first son faces three charges for providing false statements and knowingly possessing a Colt Cobra revolver while he was addicted to drugs in October 2018. A reporter questioned if President Joe Biden had spoken to his son about the criminal charges.
“There’s nothing new here as I’ve been asked that question many times. I’m not going to get into private conversations that the president has with his family. I’m just not going to speak to it,” Jean-Pierre said.
“Wouldn’t the conversations though have to change given the scrutiny or these charges?” the reporter asked.
“I’m just to gonna get into private conversations that the president has with his family,” Jean-Pierre pushed back.
Hunter’s charges see a maximum of 10 years in prison for the first and third offenses, and a maximum of five years for the second offense. (RELATED: ‘I See Where This … Is Going’: KJP Boxed In Over Hunter’s Gun Purchase, Biden’s Crackdown On Illegal Guns)
The Department of Justice released a Sept. 6 report announcing it was seeking an indictment against Hunter on a felony gun charge by the end of the month. The indictment was handed down about one-month after Special Counsel Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor David Weiss as special counsel to lead the investigation into Hunter’s criminal allegations on Aug. 11.
Hunter initially struck a deal with Weiss to avoid jail time by pleading guilty to the tax misdemeanors and agreeing to a pretrial diversion agreement for a felony gun charge. The agreement collapsed when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned an immunity provision in the diversion agreement during a July hearing, which resulted in a dispute between Biden’s legal counsel and the DOJ. Hunter changed his plea to not guilty for the two tax charges.
After being appointed special counsel, Weiss requested to withdraw the first son’s two tax offenses to potentially charge him in a different jurisdiction. Noreika granted this request and dismissed the charges.