‘I’m proud of my son’: Biden defends son Hunter after report that he could be indicted

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PresidentJoe Biden on Tuesday spoke warmly of his son Hunter’s recovery from drug addiction when asked about reports that Hunter Biden could face criminal charges for lying on a gun background check form.

Last week, The Washington Post reported that Hunter Biden, an attorney and lobbyist who is the president’s youngest and only surviving son, could face criminal charges relating to a handgun purchase he allegedly made at a time when he was struggling with substance abuse.

Pressed about the Post reporting by CNN’s Jake Tapper, Mr Biden replied: “Well, first of all, I'm proud of my son”.

He described Hunter as someone who “got hooked on drugs” and compared his son’s struggle to that faced by many American families, and said his son had “overcome” his addiction and “established a new life”.

The president also said he is “confident” that what his son says and does is “consistent with what happens” and offered the example of his “straightforward” candor about his struggles with substance abuse in his memoir, Beautiful Things.

Mr Biden added that he “didn’t know anything” about his son’s alleged handgun purchase, but acknowledged that Hunter had written about the matter in his book.

“Turns out that when he made application to purchase a gun, what happened was ... you get asked a question — are you on drugs, or do use drugs? He said no,” he said.