Joe Biden left his son Hunter a voicemail urging him to “seek help,” three days after the president’s son lied about his drug addiction on a federal form to purchase a gun, the central crime of his trial criminal in Delaware.
The audio clip of the voice message, obtained by DailyMail.com from Hunter’s abandoned laptop, suggests that even the president knew his son was an addict in October 2018.
Jury selection began Monday for the trial, in which Hunter is accused of lying about his sobriety on a firearms transaction log so he could buy a gun, a federal crime.
Prosecutors will argue that the first son committed three felonies by falsely stating on a form that he was not a drug addict so he could purchase a Colt Cobra .38 pistol on October 12, 2018.
Hunter Biden (left) holds hands with his wife Melissa Cohen (right) as he leaves court Monday at the end of the opening day of his trial on criminal weapons charges in Wilmington, Delaware.
Hunter, known for having struggled with drug abuse, is accused of lying about his addiction on a federal form he used to purchase a firearm on Oct. 12, 2018. He is pictured posing naked with a gun.
And today, DailyMail.com can reveal that just three days after purchasing the firearm, on October 15, Joe left Hunter a voicemail indicating he knew his son was struggling.
‘Is Dad. I’m calling you to tell you that I love you. I love you more than the whole world, friend. You have to get help,” the president is heard saying in the audio clip.
‘I don’t know what to do, I know you don’t either. I’m here, no matter what you need. No matter what you need, I love you.’
Hunter wrote in his memoir, Beautiful Things, that at the time he was a “full-blown” crack addict. The book will be used as evidence at Hunter’s trial.
Joe followed up with another voicemail on October 19, saying: ‘Hey, I’m a dad again. I’m in Newport News Virginia, it’s about 4 o’clock.
‘I’m just calling to check. Just text me or something, let me know you’re okay. OK? I love you.’
According to texts Hunter wrote to family members, Joe ended up paying tens of thousands of dollars for Hunter’s repeated stints in rehab to treat his chronic crack addiction.
According to pretrial documents, prosecutors will use material including text and photographs from Hunter’s laptop to show jurors that he was knowingly addicted to crack cocaine at the time he signed the federal form.
Joe’s voicemail is not currently among the evidence listed in court documents, but it is in prosecutors’ possession and could help bolster their case.
DailyMail.com can reveal the president had left his son a voicemail advising him to “get help”, suggesting he knew about his battle with drugs, three days after the gun purchase.
Joe’s voicemail is not currently among the evidence listed in court documents, but it is in prosecutors’ possession and could help bolster their case.
Hunter allegedly lied on a firearms report (above) required for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows that he answered “no” when asked if he was an “illegal user or addict of marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic or any other controlled substance.”
Special prosecutor David Weiss’ aides even hinted at “messages with certain family members” that they could use at trial if Hunter’s attorneys try to claim that the First Son didn’t know he was an addict.
‘At present, the government has not included relevant messages with certain family members in summary table 1006 (a list of prosecution evidence), but the government reserves the right to use such evidence and may do so if the defense presents a theory. “That the defendant did not know that he was in prohibited status because these messages are evidence of his knowledge of his addiction and use of crack cocaine,” prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines wrote in a May 20 court filing.
However, any prospect of the president’s messages to his son reaching the jury would be highly controversial, in a trial held in the Bidens’ home state and power base.
The potentially incriminating voicemail also flies in the face of Joe’s earlier claim that his son “didn’t do anything wrong.”
When asked by MSNBC about Hunter’s plea negotiations with prosecutors in May 2023, the president said: ‘My son has done nothing wrong. I trust in him. I have faith in him.’
Hunter purchased the .38 revolver from Starquest Shooters in Delaware on October 12, 2018.
But by then, Hunter’s gun purchase form had been posted for more than a year, showing that in October 2018 he checked a box saying he was not addicted to any illicit substances in order to purchase his gun.
Joe’s voicemail indicates that he knew his son was struggling with addiction at the time.
President Biden has pushed for stricter gun regulations and signed a 2022 bill into law that expanded the use of background checks aimed at protecting children.
Days after the First Son’s gun purchase, his then-lover and brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, dumped the firearm and bullets in a supermarket trash can outside a high school in Wilmington.
Police later found him and questioned the couple, Delaware State Police reports released in pretrial documents show.
