Hunter Biden appeared at the White House on Wednesday at a Medal of Honor ceremony to posthumously honor two Civil War soldiers, weeks after his felony gun conviction.
Biden was seen at the White House as his father posthumously awarded the military's highest honor to Union soldiers Pvt. Philip Gephart Shadrach and Pvt. George Davenport Wilson. The pair were part of a Union Army contingent that stole a Confederate train during the war in what became known as the "Great Locomotive Chase."
Each soldier’s oldest living relative accepted the award during Wednesday's ceremony.
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Seated in the audience was the president's son, who was convicted in June of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Biden lied on a federal form when he was asked if he was an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances while trying to purchase a firearm from a Delaware gun shop.
He has long been a target for Republicans because of his checkered past and possible influence within his father's administration. More recently, House Republicans were upset over reported revelations he has been sitting in on President Biden's White House meetings in recent days.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., called Hunter Biden "a walking national security threat."
"He's raked in more than $20 million from foreign entities, including the CCP, for the Biden [family]. He's also the owner of the FBI-investigated laptop from hell. … Does Hunter have the clearance necessary to sit in on high-level White House meetings with his dad?" Steube previously told Fox News Digital.
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During Wednesday's ceremony, Biden recalled how Shadrach and Wilson fought and died to "preserve the union and the sacred values it was founded upon: freedom, justice, fairness, unity."
"Phillip and George were willing to shed their blood to make these ideals real," Biden said.
The pair were members of a group of volunteers organized by James J. Andrews, a Kentucky-born civilian spy and scout. The mission of the group, named Andrews' Raiders, was to degrade the railway and telegraph lines used by Confederates in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On April 12, 1862, nearly two dozen men hijacked a train named The General in Georgia. They tore up tracks and sliced through telegraph wires while taking the train north.
After being chased by Confederate troops, they were eventually caught. Andrews and seven others were executed, while the others either escaped or remained prisoners of war.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
