President Joe Biden reportedly feels some guilt about the situation his son, Hunter Biden, is facing.
On Tuesday, Axios published a story detailing the emotional toll the president has experienced from the attacks his son faces as well the criminal charges against him titled, “Biden’s Hunter trigger: President feels guilty, sad, angry when son attacked.”
“In private, no issue is more likely to anger or sadden President Biden than attacks on his son Hunter, according to people close to the president who have seen his moods shift when there’s bad news about Hunter,” Axios’ Alex Thompson wrote.
The article added, “For Biden — who privately has expressed guilt over Hunter’s ongoing legal and political fights — the next year will be emotionally fraught as Hunter faces new criminal charges and will be at the center of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry.”
Additionally, it stated the president believes Hunter Biden would not be “facing criminal prosecutions or be the target of daily stories by conservative media” if he declined to run in 2020.
The situation has also reportedly been a source of friction between Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“Biden’s relationship with Garland — which was already tense — has become more frigid amid Biden’s frustration at the lengthy criminal investigation and now prosecution of Hunter by the Justice Department,” Thompson explained.
He noted people “close to” the president have “fumed” over Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to look into Hunter Biden.
The Axios story comes after the younger Biden was charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors.
In a statement, special counsel David Weiss accused the president’s adult son of spending “millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”
If convicted, he could spend a maximum of 17 years in prison.
He is also facing federal firearm charges stemming from allegations he lied on a form in 2018 to acquire a gun.
During an episode of the “Moby Pod” released on Friday, Hunter Biden said, “I recognize that none of this is necessarily about me. They are trying to — in their most illegitimate way, but rational way — they’re trying to destroy a presidency. And so it’s not about me.”
“What they’re trying to do is they’re trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle, and so therefore destroy a presidency in that way,” he added.