President Joe Biden seems to be taking a break from appearing in public with Hunter Biden amid the first son’s ongoing legal troubles.
The president has not been spotted with Hunter Biden since the Fourth of July at the White House. Before the apparent hiatus, the pair had been spending more time together than usual, traveling to Camp David twice within a few weeks, appearing at June’s state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attending the college graduation of Hunter’s daughter, Maisy Biden, in May.
Those close to the president have advised him to keep his son at a distance, NBC News reported June 28. Joe Biden allegedly told his aides he would reject any suggestions about pushing Hunter Biden away, telling advisers to keep their “hands off my family.”
Since the last time the Bidens were seen together, the House Oversight Committee has presented more evidence surrounding Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and alleged influence peddling. Hunter Biden’s legal troubles only intensified when a plea deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) fell through in late July.
On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel in the investigation into Hunter Biden. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Hobnobs At White House Dinner After ‘Sweetheart’ Deal)
US President Joe Biden walks with grandson Beau Biden to Marine One as Hunter Biden (R) follows at Andrews Air Force Base June 24, 2023, in Maryland. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
On July 31, the Oversight Committee brought forward Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Devon Archer, to testify. During his testimony, Archer said Joe Biden spoke with Hunter on the phone “more than 20 times about their business deals,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Daily Caller.
The president said in 2019 that he had never spoken to his son about business. Joe Biden told Fox News’ Peter Doocy on Aug. 9 that Archer’s claim about the speakerphone conversations is “not true.”
The committee previously published a report alleging the Biden family received over $20 million from foreign sources while Joe Biden was vice president.
On July 19, IRS whistleblowers Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified about the alleged preferential treatment the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances received from “the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice Tax, and Department of Justice.”
Hunter Biden’s “sweetheart deal” with the DOJ fell apart at court in late July. His legal team attempted to enter into a diversion agreement to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge and plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the terms of the deal, as it seemingly granted Hunter immunity from being prosecuted for any crime mentioned in the statement of facts outlining his foreign business dealings. Prosecutors said Friday that Hunter Biden is likely to face a trial in their attempt to move the charges to either the Central District of California or Washington, D.C.
The White House’s rhetoric about the president’s son has also sought to distinguish Hunter Biden from the greater Biden family.
“Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter for him. As we have said, the President, the First Lady — they love their son, and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said July 27.
The president would not pardon his son if convicted, Jean-Pierre added.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry from the Daily Caller by the time of publication.