Hunter Biden, currently under Justice Department investigation, departed with President Joe Biden for a summer vacation trip to South Carolina.
CNN reported late last month that the DOJ's investigation into Hunter Biden's business activities was nearing a critical juncture as investigators weighed possible charges and prosecutors confronted guidelines to generally avoid bringing politically sensitive cases close to an election.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden was laughing with his father as they boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. They were joined on the trip by first lady Jill Biden, Hunter's wife Melissa Cohen, and first grandson Beau.
"Just days after returning from a beach vacation in Delaware, Joe Biden (and Hunter) jet off for a weeklong beach vacation in South Carolina," RNC Research tweeted with video showing father and son walking up the plane's steps.
The Bidens are expected to spend most of the next week at Kiawah Island, an affluent oceanfront golf resort.
CNN reported that DOJ officials were discussing possibly bringing charges against Hunter Biden that could include alleged tax violations and making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm. At the time of the alleged purchase, Hunter was prohibited from doing so because of his acknowledged struggles with drug addiction.
While the Bidens headed for vacation, the mainstream media's focus on the DOJ concerned the FBI's raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home on Monday night. Neither Attorney General Merrick Garland nor FBI Director Christopher Wray had commented about the raid.
President Biden has spent many weekends at his homes in the Delaware cities of Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach but had not been to Kiawah Island since taking office in January 2021.
Biden, 79, just got over a bout of COVID-19, and as of Tuesday, still had a lingering cough.
Although past presidents have held news conferences before leaving on their traditional August vacations, Biden did not have one this time.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.