“I'm incredibly proud of my son, Hunter,” Biden said at a brief press conference at the G7 summit, as Hunter's daughters, Maisie and Finnegan, looked on from the auditorium a few feet away. “He's overcome addiction. He's one of the smartest, most decent men I know.”
The president reiterated that he would not pardon his son and said he trusted the jury's verdict in finding Hunter Biden guilty of lying on a gun purchase application in 2018 about not using illegal drugs.
As Biden left the stage, he was also asked if he would commute his son's sentence — meaning, reduce the severity of his sentence. “No,” he replied.
Hunter Biden is not expected to be sentenced for several weeks while the prosecution and defense prepare a brief for the judge on what they believe to be an appropriate punishment. A conviction could carry prison time, but some legal experts say that is unlikely given that it was a first-time offender and he only owned a gun for 11 days and never used it.
Still, the issue of CEO pardon power plays an unusually important role in the 2024 presidential election, mainly because Republican candidate Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide an alleged extramarital affair. Trump faces three additional criminal trials that may not begin until after the Nov. 5 election. Hunter Biden, meanwhile, faces a tax evasion trial in September.
Biden was answering questions about his son when he spoke to reporters alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the two leaders announced a new security pact between the two countries.
The moment underscores Biden's attempt to balance political and personal demands at this week's summit, as he juggles pressures that have far-reaching global implications with those tied to his close-knit family.
The president made a surprise trip to Wilmington, Delaware, hours before leaving on the trip, and on the day Hunter Biden was convicted, and was greeted at the airport by his son, Hunter's wife, Melissa, and son Beau.
Biden's priority at the summit was to finalize a financial aid agreement for Ukraine and reassure allies of US leadership, but the president also sought to maintain family ties, bringing with him three of Hunter Biden's granddaughters.
They include the president's 30-year-old granddaughter, Naomi Biden, who cried while testifying in a Wilmington courtroom a few days ago and who joined the president this week at a majestic venue near the Adriatic Sea.
The president's granddaughters and Naomi's husband, Peter Neal, looked on during the press conference.
