US President Joe Biden has clarified that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who is currently on trial in Delaware. He expressed his willingness to accept the outcome of the lawsuit.
The 53-year-old Hunter is facing charges of violating a law that prohibits illegal drug users from owning firearms.
President Biden was asked if he would rule out a pardon for Hunter. He said 'Yes' while talking to ABC News on Friday. He again said 'Yes' when he was asked if he would accept the trial's outcome.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to three felony charges. He was accused of not disclosing his illegal drug use when purchasing a revolver in 2018 and illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.
If convicted, Hunter could end up in jail for up to 25 years. However, according to the US Justice Department, sentences for such crimes are usually shorter.
Meantime, the widow of Hunter Biden's brother, Beau Biden, testified before the court. She told the court that she found the revolver in Hunter's truck. She said that she placed it in a leather pouch, then into a shopping bag, and disposed of it in a trash can outside a nearby market.
"I panicked, and I wanted to get rid of them," she said while recalling the October 2018 incident. "I didn't want him to hurt himself, and I didn’t want my kids to find it and hurt themselves."
Federal prosecutors claim that Hunter Biden was heavily addicted to crack cocaine when he bought the gun. He is charged with lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application about his drug use, and possessing the gun illegally for 11 days.
Asserting his innocence, Hunter argued that the Justice Department succumbed to political pressure from Republicans and is unfairly targeting him.
Houses evacuated, classes cancelled across Ecuador's capital as clouds of smoke from five simultaneous wildfires...
Pezeshkian criticised Israel for what he called "its genocide in Gaza" and said it should stop immediately
Poll of 2,074 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points
US president calls on world leaders to end global conflicts in his last speech at UNGA
Ex-US president vows to urge to deal to end Russia-Ukraine war if he wins presidential election in November
A tsunami of 50 cm reached Hachijo island, one of the Izu islands, about 40 minutes after the earthquake