There's been plenty of concerns with conflicts of interest when it comes to Hunter Biden's upcoming gun trial. In addition to the first son and Attorney General Merrick Garland appearing at the same state dinner last week, President Joe Biden over the weekend also visited with Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden. She was also romantically involved Hunter after Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 and is expected to be called as a witness in the upcoming trial.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the meeting by Fox News' Peter Doocy during Tuesday's briefing. Jean-Pierre initially appeared confused, and then also got testy with Doocy.
"Why did President Biden have a private meeting with a witness who plans to testify in court against his son," Doocy asked. Jean-Pierre responded by asking him to say more, in a clearly exasperated tone of voice.
"Hallie Biden is a key government witness who allegedly disposed of a gun that Hunter is accused of buying illegally. President Biden was at her house this week." Doocy reminded her.
Still seemingly annoyed with Doocy, Jean-Pierre tried to change the the focus by bringing up Memorial Day. "I think the American people should also be told the full breadth of this--not just a part of this question here--uh--as you all know-- uh--the president actually spoke to this yesterday during his Memorial--I think impactful, powerful Memorial Day address where he talked about--he talked about the passing the anniversary--the ninth anniversary of the passing of his son, and he visited her--as that anniversary is approaching."
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Her tone became more hostile from there. "He visited her a days before the anniversary of the passing of his son and--uh--she is family. She was married, obviously, to his late son. And I think that is something also to mention as you're asking your question to me."
Doocy did not take the bait after Jean-Pierre tried to insist he does his job in a certain way. "So they did not talk about her testimony," he instead asked, seeking clarification after Jean-Pierre touched upon Beau's death and the even more unrelated topic of how the president commemorated Memorial Day
"This was not about that. This was about literally--the ninth anniversary of the passing of his son, that is upcoming, in days, Peter," Jean-Pierre insisted as part of a non-answer, before Doocy moved on to ask another question.
Doocy: Why did President Biden have a private meeting with a witness who plans to testify against his son?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 28, 2024
KJP: Can you say more?
Doocy: Hallie Biden is a key government witness who allegedly disposed of a gun Hunter is accused of buying illegally. President Biden was at her… pic.twitter.com/xIF8dVAhQu
It's not his job to give the whole story when asking a question. It's her job to clarify and answer the question.
— Heffner Career Transition Coaching (@HeffnerCoach) May 28, 2024
These concerns about conflicts of interest come as Mia has highlighted how Hunter's "laptop from hell" could come back to haunt the first son during the trial. Such a trial could also cause "psychological torment" for his father as he runs for reelection, POLITICO warned earlier this month.
The trial for the tax charges against Hunter was supposed to be June 20, but has been postponed and will now not take place until September 5.
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