Former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield suggested Tuesday that President Joe Biden should avoid publicly discussing his son’s verdict, as doing so would not be a good strategy politically.
Hunter Biden was found guilty on Tuesday of all three charges he was facing related to a 2018 gun purchase, including lying on a federal form about his drug use to purchase a revolver, submitting a false statement into a federal record, and unlawfully possessing the firearm for 11 days. While the president has already issued a statement on his son’s ruling, Bedingfield contended that Biden should not continue to talk about it, as he has been “very disciplined” in not bringing attention to his son.
“I think also it wouldn‘t, just on a human level, I think it wouldn‘t be great for his son,” Bedingfield said on CNN’s Inside Politics with Dana Bash. “I mean, I don‘t think he wants to be out there every day talking about this incredibly difficult moment. So no, I think both politically and personally that wouldn‘t be smart. I think he‘s struck a pretty disciplined line here.”
Bedingfield claimed that the president handling this family issue will likely have little impact on his political life, noting how Biden has a history of doing this. Among the personal challenges Bedingfield referenced was how his first wife and daughter were killed in 1972, shortly after Biden was first elected to the Senate.
Hunter Biden’s charges were brought by special counsel David Weiss last September, who had been investigating him for five years for tax crimes and Foreign Agents Registration Act violations, and the gun charges were a byproduct of that investigation. Weiss also charged Hunter Biden in a separate case in California with nine tax crimes, and the president’s son is set to stand trial there in September.
In the wake of the ruling, Biden described himself as both a president and a father who loves his son, but that he intends to respect the outcome of his son’s case. Biden previously stated that he would not pardon his son if he is found guilty.
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“As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” the statement said. “Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.”
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign issued its own statement after the trial, in which it criticized the trial as a distraction from “the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family.” The statement also vowed that Biden’s reign over “the Biden Family Criminal Empire” would end on Nov. 5, which is Election Day.