WASHINGTON — First son Hunter Biden has been joining West Wing meetings with his father since President Biden returned to the White House on Monday — as the oldest-ever sitting president resists calls from fellow Democrats to step aside, The Post has confirmed.
Scandal-plagued Hunter, 54, who was convicted June 11 of three federal gun felonies and is scheduled for a second federal trial Sept. 5 for $1.4 million in alleged tax fraud, is an advocate of his 81-year-old dad continuing to seek a second term as the Biden family reportedly blames longtime advisers for the president’s dismal Thursday debate performance.
“Hunter doesn’t trust” his father’s old guard of aides, one source told The Post. “I think Hunter wants to be there, and POTUS isn’t going to say no.”
Hunter Biden’s unusual new role in meetings was first reported by NBC News, citing four sources — and was confirmed to The Post by two sources with indirect knowledge, who said they aren’t sure what precisely his role has been in informing official and political decision-making.
One NBC source said the internal reaction among aides was, “What the hell is happening?” after the first son “popped into” multiple meetings and phone calls.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sought to portray Hunter’s role as fleeting and isolated to Monday night when he joined a meeting preparing for an evening speech on a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity — even though one source told The Post that the first son was again spotted in the West Wing Tuesday morning.
Hunter Biden on Monday night “came back with [Joe Biden]” from a long weekend at Camp David and “walked with him into that meeting, that speech prep, and he ended up spending time with his dad and his family that night,” Jean-Pierre said, without addressing Hunter’s alleged presence Tuesday.
Members of the Biden family have cast blame for the debate catastrophe on longtime advisers who prepared the president, including former White House chief of staff Ron Klain, senior adviser Anita Dunn and personal attorney Bob Bauer, according to multiple press reports, including by the New York Times and Politico.
Although Hunter Biden could offer moral support to his father, his new role threatens to deepen his dad’s political predicament.
The elder Biden regularly interacted with Hunter and first brother James Biden’s foreign business partners during his vice presidency — including those from China, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia and Ukraine — with those links now the central focus of an ongoing House impeachment inquiry.
The first son also is a recovering cocaine addict — something that would cause most advisers to lose security clearances and their jobs.
Biden in 2021 fired five staffers who admitted they had used marijuana.
