CNN’s Jake Tapper asked President Joe Biden Tuesday about potential criminal charges hitting his son Hunter, and the president responded with nothing but love and admiration for whom he once called the “smartest man” he knows.
Last week, it was reported that federal prosecutors gathered enough evidence “months ago” to charge Hunter Biden with multiple crimes related to taxes and lying to investigators about a gun purchase, according to The Washington Post. Tapper asked Biden how he reacts to the news about his son “personally and politically.”
“Well first of all, I’m proud of my son,” the president began. “This is a kid who got, not a kid he’s a grown man, he got hooked on, like many families have had happen, hooked on drugs. He’s overcome that, he’s established a new life.”
CNN’s TAPPER: "Prosecutors […] have enough to charge your son Hunter for tax crimes and false statements about a gun purchase…”
BIDEN: “When he made an application to purchase a gun, […] You get asked the question, ‘Are you on drugs?’ He said ‘no.’”pic.twitter.com/gBgSPDheDj
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 12, 2022
No charges have yet to be filed against Biden’s 52-year-old son after the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings began in 2018. As the investigation grew, multiple agencies scrutinized whether he paid all the taxes that he was required to and whether he lied on an ATF Form 4473 background check while purchasing a firearm.
Only the U.S. attorney in Delaware holds the authority to move forward with charging Hunter Biden with crimes. The president, however, suggested to Tapper that he’s not too worried about Hunter falling into big trouble.
“I’m confident that what he says and does are consistent with what happens,” Biden said.
“I have great confidence in my son,” he added. “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.”
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.