Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, says that President Biden and first lady Jill Biden “support” Hunter Biden after he pleaded “not guilty” in federal court on Wednesday.
As part of a deal to escape jail time on a criminal gun charge, the president’s son was set to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willfully failing to pay federal income tax.
But the judge in Delaware, Maryellen Noreika, did not accept the plea deal because she thought it was against the law, especially the part about Hunter Biden not having to go to jail and the part about him getting protection.
“Hunter Biden is a private guy; this was his own business. “As we’ve said before, the president and the first lady love their son and are there for him as he continues to put his life back together,” Jean-Pierre said later during a White House press meeting on Wednesday.
“As you all know, this case was handled independently by the Justice Department, which was led by a prosecutor picked by President Trump,” she said. “So, as you know, and we’ve been very consistent from here on out, if you have any more questions, I’d refer you to the Department of Justice and Hunter’s representatives, who are obviously his lawyers and can answer any of your questions.”
Judge Noreika questioned federal officials about the investigation on Wednesday. She wanted to know if there was a chance of more charges and if Hunter Biden was still being looked into. They said he was but wouldn’t know what the president’s son is being investigated for.
Wednesday, prosecutors said that Hunter Biden’s guilty plea to the two minor tax crimes would not protect him from future charges.
The judge asked the lawyers if they were looking into a possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but they said nothing.
The judge asked the federal prosecutors and Biden’s lawyers to talk about the plea deal because they didn’t seem to agree on the terms. The judge then took the court out of session.
