Biden addresses possible gun charge against son Hunter: 'He's on the straight and narrow'

In a Tuesday interview with CNN, President Biden directly addressed the possibility that his son Hunter could face criminal charges stemming from a false statement on an application to obtain a gun.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked the president for his reaction to a recent Washington Post story that federal agents believe they have gathered enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and making a false statement related to a gun purchase.

“Well, first of all, I’m proud of my son,” Biden responded. “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.”

The president noted that his son had written about his addiction struggles in his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” and that he also acknowledged falsely answering a question when applying for a firearm.

“He came along and said, ‘By the way, this thing about a gun,’ I didn’t know about it, but it turns out that when he made an application to buy a gun, what happened was, I guess you get asked, I don’t guess, you get asked, ‘Are you on drugs? Do you use drugs?’ He said no. And he wrote about saying no in his book. So I have great confidence in my son. I love him, and he’s on the straight and narrow, and he has been for a couple years now.”

On Monday, Fox News host Sean Hannity played a voicemail on his program that was left for Hunter Biden by his father. Hannity told his viewers, “That voicemail reportedly came at the exact same time Hunter lied on a gun application to buy a handgun.”

In the message, Biden expresses his support for his son.

“It’s Dad. I called to tell you I love you. I love you more than the whole world, pal. You gotta get some help,” Biden is heard saying. “I know you don’t know what to do. I don’t either.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland has left the decision on whether to criminally charge Hunter Biden in the hands of David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, the Washington Post reported, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.