Joe Biden says he won’t pardon son Hunter if convicted in gun trial

Joe Biden has indicated that he will not pardon his son Hunter if he is convicted at his federal gun trial that is continuing on Friday in Delaware.

When the US president was asked in an interview with ABC News on Thursday if he is prepared to accept whatever outcome arises from Hunter Biden’s trial, he replied “yes”.

The president is still in France to make a speech on democracy in Normandy on Friday, as part of the ongoing events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-day, the allies’ turning point in the war against Nazi Germany in 1944.

The first lady, Jill Biden, returned to the US on Thursday after having accompanied her husband in France and arrived in court on Friday to support her stepson, as federal prosecutors are in the process of wrapping up their gun case against him.

Two more witnesses are expected to testify on Friday as prosecutors continue their effort to prove to jurors that Hunter Biden lied on a mandatory gun purchase form when he said he wasn’t “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs.

Prosecutors are still planning to call a drug expert and an FBI chemist, capping a week that has been largely dedicated to highlighting the seriousness of his drug problem, which escalated out of control after his elder brother, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.

Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies: lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days. It would be more usual for such an offense to be settled with a plea deal if the defendant admits it occurred, but an earlier deal for Hunter was unexpectedly thrown out last summer.

He was subsequently indicted on the three felony gun charges. He also faces a trial scheduled for September on felony charges alleging he failed to pay at least $1.4m in taxes over four years.

The Associated Press contributed reporting