President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty on Tuesday of lying about his drug use to illegally purchase a firearm, a verdict that Democrats may use to counter Donald Trump’s claims of a biased justice system.
Hunter Biden becomes the first child of a sitting US president to be found guilty of a crime
A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, federal court convicted him on all three counts, making Hunter Biden the first child of a sitting US president to be found guilty of a crime.
Each count required a unanimous decision by the 12-member jury.
This trial followed the May 30 conviction of Trump, the first former US president to be found guilty of a felony, who is also the Republican challenger to Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.
Trump, convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal, accuses Democrats of pursuing that case and three other criminal prosecutions to hinder his bid to regain power in his rematch with Joe Biden.
Congressional Democrats have cited cases like the Hunter Biden prosecution as evidence that Joe Biden is not manipulating the justice system for political or personal gains, emphasizing that he would not pardon his son if convicted.
The Hunter Biden case was prosecuted by US Department of Justice Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee.
Additional charges in California: Tax evasion and extravagant spending allegations
Weiss has also charged Hunter Biden with three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses in California, alleging he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019 while spending millions on drugs, escorts, luxury cars, and other high-cost items.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to these charges. A trial is set for Sept. 5 in Los Angeles.
During the Delaware trial, prosecution witnesses included Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, former girlfriend, and sister-in-law, who provided firsthand accounts of his worsening addiction around the time he bought the gun in October 2018.
Prosecutors also presented text messages, photos, and bank records showing Hunter Biden’s severe addiction when he bought the gun and knowingly broke the law by denying drug use on a government screening form.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers argued that he was not using drugs when he purchased the gun and did not intend to deceive because he did not see himself as a drug user at that time.
The defense called Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, who testified that her father appeared to be doing well when she saw him shortly before and after he bought the gun.
The sentencing guidelines for the gun-related charges against Hunter Biden range from 15 to 21 months, but legal experts suggest that defendants in similar cases often receive shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they comply with the terms of their pretrial release.