It was on June 20 that a tentative plea deal for Hunter Biden to avoid any jail time on a handful of federal criminal charges was publicly revealed, though that dubious and sharply criticized agreement with prosecutors later crumbled under the scrutiny of a federal judge, leaving the president's son once again liable to prosecution.
It has now also been revealed that Hunter Biden secretly moved into the White House to live with his father, President Joe Biden, for around two weeks after the plea deal was first announced, according to Breitbart.
That two-week stay at the White House was reportedly kept secret from even most of President Joe Biden's aides and staffers, and likely invites new scrutiny over the still-unsolved White House cocaine discovery over the July 4 weekend, as it is now clear that Hunter Biden, a known and admitted recovering drug addict, was staying at the presidential residence in the days leading up to that discovery.
The Washington Post was the first to report this week about the previously unknown two-week stay at the White House in late June and into early July for Hunter Biden plus his wife and young son, who were quietly welcomed in by the president and first lady just one day after the now-defunct plea deal had first been announced.
Throughout that two-week stay, the embattled president's son controversially joined his father at a prestigious White House State Dinner, a pair of weekend getaways to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, and the White House Independence Day celebration -- and the Biden family seemingly had reason to celebrate, as it appeared at that time that Hunter Biden's legal woes were all but ultimately settled.
The White House is now downplaying the significance of Hunter Biden's two-week stay, however, by noting that other Biden family members have also quietly stayed at the presidential residence in the past, and spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement, "The President and First Lady love their son, support him, and are proud of him overcoming addiction and continuing to rebuild his life."
The story from The Post further exposed how Hunter Biden and his travails are a particularly sore subject for President Biden that all but only a few of the president's top advisors and staffers are willing to broach.
The outlet reported that "most aides strenuously avoid discussing Hunter’s troubles with the president, believing their contributions and ideas would not be welcome, even as they worry about the personal toll it is taking on the elder Biden." That hesitancy to bring up the touchy subject, however, "makes it tough" for aides and staffers "to offer strategic advice on the matter."
"Despite the political scrutiny Hunter has received, most White House aides, even some of the most senior ones, are not involved in any conversations about the president’s son," it was further noted. "Most were unaware that he and his family were staying in the White House for two weeks this summer, and only a small group of longtime trusted aides are engaged in conversations about how to handle family matters."
Those and other revelations from The Washington Post appear to align with, bolster, and shed additional light on an article from NBC News in late June about how President Biden has essentially warned everybody around him to not discuss Hunter Biden's mounting legal and political troubles, with one unnamed source saying the standing order is: "Hands off my family."
The elder Biden was said to be wholly "consumed" by the many issues his son faces -- admittedly as most fathers would be for their offspring -- though the president was also said to routinely become "defensive" or "outright angry" toward even his "most senior aides" if the topic of his son and the potential political impact of his problems is brought up.
"Those close to the president have given up trying, even in the most gingerly of ways, to explain to him the potential political fallout, accepting that he and the first lady’s family-first approach to public office won’t change," the outlet reported.
"This is the reality of their family ethos," one anonymous source said, while another summarized the prevailing attitude among White House aides and staffers has become that "it is what it is, and we’re dealing with it."
Yet, as much as the president and first lady don't want to discuss Hunter Biden's problems, and the president's advisors are loathe to even bring it up, that certainly won't stop Republicans, be they in Congress or on the campaign trail, from repeatedly raising the issue, particularly given the persistent suspicions that the president himself is involved in some way with his troubled son's dubious dealings.
