Joe Biden expressed support for his son Hunter after he pleaded not guilty to gun charges.

"The president loves his son," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. "He's going to continue to support him as he rebuilds his life."

Joe stands by his son

The White House has stayed on message with Hunter's lawyers, dismissing Republican inquiries into the Biden family's business deals as a political witch hunt.

Joe Biden has built a personal narrative out of being a family man, and his affectionate bond for his son has often been the subject of cloying news coverage.

Some of Biden's defenders in Congress and the media have defended his alleged corruption as nothing more than a father's love, inspiring mockery from critics of the "Biden crime family."

The family's defenders have dutifully overlooked mounting evidence that Joe Biden was involved in an influence peddling scheme. There are also signs that father and son shared finances.

In an infamous text, Hunter Biden griped about sharing half his income with his father, known to his son's business associates as "the big guy."

A father's love....

During the Republicans' chaotic first impeachment inquiry hearing last week, Democrats said Joe Biden's only crime is loving his son "unconditionally."

"Tell you what the president has been guilty of. He has unfortunately been guilty of loving his child unconditionally, and that is the only evidence that they have brought forward," Jasmine Crockett (TX) said. "And honestly, I hope and pray that my parents love me half as much as he loves his child."

The Justice Department has been accused of giving Hunter Biden special treatment, especially after the prosecutor in charge of the case, David Weiss, orchestrated a sweetheart plea deal that unraveled in court.

As Weiss pursues gun charges, Republicans have dismissed the case as a distraction from more serious wrongdoing surrounding the Bidens' overseas business dealings.

Skeptics note that the gun charge conveniently does not implicate former Vice President Biden, helping to fuel the narrative that Joe Biden had no connection to any financial wrongdoing.

But Biden's press secretary insisted the DOJ probe is free and "independent."

"It has been ... led by one of the prosecutors from the last administration, and so, we're just not going to comment," she said.