EXCLUSIVE PICS: Hunter Biden on the other side of the country while dad fights for political life
Hunter Biden has remained one of his father's most ardent supporters, but some have alleged that he is merely angling for pardons in two cases brought against him.
Fox News Digital exclusive photos show Hunter Biden out and about in Los Angeles while his father, President Joe Biden, remained hunkered down on the other side of the country, battling to save his legacy.
The younger Biden, who has reportedly been closely advising his father as a chorus of key Democrats call on him to end his re-election bid, was seen shopping Friday and leaving the home of "Sugar Bro" Kevin Morris, the entertainment lawyer who funded his defense in a recent criminal trial.
President Biden has reportedly relied heavily on his troubled Yale Law graduate son and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, as he tries to fend off claims he is not mentally fit to serve another four years as president. The calls reached a crescendo following his disastrous performance in his June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
The president is spending the weekend at his vacation house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Hunter Biden started sitting in on meetings between his father and close staff at the White House just a week after the debate, with one White House source telling NBC at the time the sudden presence caused confusion and prompted many to ask "What the hell is happening?"
Biden appeared to rely on his son not only in those meetings, but on phone calls as well, sources had reported.
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Hunter Biden was also reported to be one of the biggest advocates for his father staying in the race during a gathering at Camp David in the aftermath of the president’s poor debate performance, with some critics arguing the president using his son as a top adviser has become a conflict of interest.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., responded to Hunter Biden's involvement in these top-level meetings by labeling him "a walking national security threat."
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Some have alleged that Hunter Biden is seeking to have his father pardon him for two cases brought against him in Delaware and California. He was found guilty last month in the Delaware gun case and is awaiting sentencing. His trial on federal tax charges in California is scheduled to begin in September.
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His lawyers are requesting that both federal cases be thrown out, arguing that Special Counsel David Weiss was illegally appointed. Hunger Biden was convicted last month on three felony charges related to a handgun purchase in 2018, and a case in California about alleged federal tax crimes is ongoing.
"It's just a pure and simple massive interest in his dad staying president so he can pardon not only Hunter, but Joe and the rest of the family for the crimes they committed, and probably Merrick Garland, too, for his role in the cover-up," Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
Hunter Biden was found guilty on all charges in the Delaware gun case, including counts of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.