President Joe Biden said Monday he is “so proud” of Hunter Biden, “the man he is today,” as he goes on trial for gun violations.

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter in 2023 with one count of false statement in the purchase of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and one count of false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer.

Special Counsel David Weiss (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty)

Hunter used crack when he purchased the firearm, according to a wide variety of photos from the time on his abandoned laptop, and the gun was found discarded in a public trash can next to a school. The Secret Service allegedly intervened in the investigation of that incident.

Weiss later indicted Hunter with tax violations in California.

Hunter’s gun trial is expected to last around two weeks. Jury selection began Monday with Dr. Jill Biden and Hunter's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, in attendance.

Some of the family sitting behind Hunter in solidarity today: FLOTUS, Hunter’s wife Melissa, Hunter’s son-in-law Peter Neal, and sister Ashley (for the first part of the day).
Hunter friend Kevin Morris, former Biden body guy Fran Person, top FLOTUS aide Anthony Bernal https://t.co/Oedl4KBN8I

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 3, 2024

In 2023, Hunter refused to accept a plea deal from prosecutors after negotiations fell apart under judicial scrutiny of a “diversion agreement.”

The original “sweetheart” plea deal gave Hunter the option to plead guilty to not paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, receiving probation rather than jail time. In addition, Weiss devised a separate diversion agreement that gave Hunter immunity from potential future charges, including a provision to potentially wipe a felony gun violation from his record.

The case is United States v. Hunter Biden, No. 24-1703 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.