Biden slaps down ANY advice from aides on son Hunter's scandal

President Joe Biden had made it clear to aides that he doesn't want to hear that he should keep son Hunter away amid the first son's ongoing legal drama. 

NBC News reported late Wednesday that the president's mantra has been described as, 'Hands off my family,' according to one source. 

Biden is keeping Hunter close because he fears that the former crack cocaine addict could relapse amid the public scrutiny, sources told the network. 

And the president doesn't care about the political cost. 

'It's consumed him,' a person close to the president told NBC.

President Joe Biden (left) refuses to keep son Hunter Biden (right) away, despite his ongoing legal drama. Hunter is pictured at last week's state dinner with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi  

Hunter Biden (right) follows his father President Joe Biden (left) onto Marine One as they leave for a weekend away at Camp David on Saturday 

Two days after Hunter made headlines for the plea deal his legal team struck with the U.S. Attorney for Delaware - where he'd plead guilty for tax crimes and likely face probation over a gun charge - Biden invited Hunter and his wife Melissa Cohen to the White House state dinner with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The president also invited Hunter - with his son baby Beau - to spend part of last weekend with him at Camp David. 

The first son was photographed boarding Marine One with his father. 

Behind-the-scenes, aides have tried to delicately tell the president that the optics of keeping Hunter at his side amid the first son's legal drama may not help him win reelection, especially against former President Donald Trump. 

Trump has long used Hunter's business deals in Ukraine and China to hammer Biden. 

The ex-president was impeached the first time over his scheme to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into Hunter and then candidate Biden, holding up Congressionally-approved military aid in the process. 

Trump still contends he had a 'perfect' phone call with Zelensky. 

And when Republicans took control of the House in January, several committees immediately delved into probing Biden family 'influence peddling,' as it's being called. 

Hunter is the central figure in those investigations, as Republicans are hoping sources come forward to tie his foreign business deals - which were happening during his period of addiction, Hunter's lawyer recently noted - to the president, who has long denied involvement. 

A WhatsApp message from Hunter to a Chinese business associate provided to Republican by an IRS whistleblower caused the White House headaches, as it purported to show Hunter using his father's clout to get paid. 

In a July 2017 message to Communist Party official Henry Zhao, Hunter said I'm 'sitting with my father,' adding, 'and we would like to know why the commitment made was not fulfilled.' 

NBC reported that Biden has responded defensively and angrily when aides have made entreaties to the president to keep Hunter at an arm's length away. 

Now aides have given up trying, with one source saying, 'it is what it is, and we're dealing with it.' 

The push-and-pull bubbled up to the surface earlier this week, when former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the optics of Hunter being at the state dinner - especially with Attorney General Merrick Garland - were 'absolutely not' good. 

Deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton, who was leading her first press briefing Tuesday, was asked about that comment by Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich.  

'Like every other administration, like every other president, this president has a family, and he did exactly what many prior administrations have done. And beyond that, I really don't have any comment on this,' she said.