Joe Biden 'feels guilty' over son's legal woes as Hunter's situation 'angers' President

Joe Biden has privately expressed he feels guilty because of his son Hunter's legal woes, according to a report.

It has also been claimed that Mr Biden feels his son would not be facing his legal issues had he not run for President in 2020.

Axiox reported that people close to the President noticed his "moods shift" when he heard bad news about Hunter.

They added: "In private, no issue is more likely to anger or sadden President Biden than attacks on his son."

The outlet also reported Joe Biden's inner circle doesn't "feel free to discuss Hunter’s situation with the president" over fears it could "prompt both fury and dejection."

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Axios claimed the Justice Department investigation into Hunter has "strained" Mr Biden's relationship with Attorney General Merrick Garland.

This comes after Special Counsel David Weiss brought criminal charges against Hunter, accusing him of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm and failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Sources close to Mr Biden have reportedly "fumed" at Mr Garland for allowing Mr Weiss to investigate Hunter.

Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowel claimed on Monday her client is only being investigated because his father is President.

She told MSNBC: “Republicans … have tried and tried to say that President Biden has done something wrong. They can’t find a shred of evidence.

"What they’ve successfully done … is basically saying, 'OK, I can’t get the president, so I’ll besmirch his son in a way that suggests that there’s something going on between the two of them.'"

Hunter said himself last week the Republicans are "trying to kill me" to get to Mr Biden.

He told podcaster DJ Moby: "I recognize that none of this is necessarily about me.

"In their most base way, 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, destroying a presidency in that way.

"These people are just sad, very, very sick people that have most likely just faced traumas in their lives that they’ve decided that they are going to turn into an evil that they decide that they’re going to inflict on the rest of the world.”

Hunter could face 17 years in prison if convicted on all nine charges, including three felonies, related to his alleged failure to pay taxes over a four-year period.

His three charges related to the gun case could result in a maximum of 25 years in prison.