Hours after President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted on all three felony charges in a federal gun trial, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre canceled a scheduled press briefing.
The first son was found guilty in the Wilmington, Del., court on Tuesday of lying about his drug addiction on a federal form to purchase a firearm in 2018.
While the White House provided no justification for the briefing’s cancellation, it announced that Joe Biden would travel to his home in Wilmington following the guilty verdict.
The prosecution called on three of Hunter Biden’s exes to testify during the trial about his use of crack cocaine. The jury was shown text messages the first son sent just three days after purchasing the gun in which he discussed smoking crack.
The jury delivered their verdict two hours after beginning the second day of deliberations and just a few hours before Joe Biden gave a speech about gun control.
“As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” Joe Biden said in a statement responding to the verdict. “As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”